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UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 
IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



UNDER THE 

SOUTHERN CROSS 

IN SOUTH AMERICA 



BY 

WILLIAMSON BUCKMAN, F. R. G. S. 

Author of "Land of The Llama" Etc. 



( With Illustrations from Photographs by the Author J 



New York 
The Book Publishers' Press 
1914 






Entererd according to Act of Congress in the year 1914, by 

WILLIAMSON BUCKMAN 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 

(All rights reserved.) 



> 




V 10 1314 



Printed in the LTnited States of America 



/*/* 



•CI.A387464 



TO 

THOSE WHO WILL BE, FOR MY SAKE, 

ITS MOST INTERESTED READERS, 

MY BELOVED PARENTS, 

THIS SIMPLE RECORD 
OF TROPICAL WANDERINGS 

IS 
AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. 

THE AUTHOR. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Until comparatively recent times — only a few years back — South 
America was regarded by the great majority outside its confines 
as tbe least known and, therefore, least understood part of the 
world ; and North Americans looked upon it as the part from which 
least might be expected as far as their own interests were concerned. 

Journalists and newspaper men were accustomed to picture it 
as a mysterious land whose chief productions were deadly fevers 
and frequent insurrections. Indeed, in most cases, when the press 
mentioned it the purpose was only to chronicle some sanguinary 
revolution or outburst of border warfare. 

Several reasons contributed to keep South America in the back- 
ground and leave it an unappreciated and neglected continent. In 
the first place its situation was against its becoming more familiar 
to northern lands. It stretches to the Far South, entirely away 
from the usual lines of travel and the beaten paths of the ordinary 
tourist. Few Americans have inclination or time to make personal 
acquaintance with the peoples and countries below the northern 
rim of the earth, where the Southern Cross shimmers overhead 
and where Christmas comes in the heat of summer and July the 
Fourth occurs in the middle of winter. 

In the next place our Monroe Doctrine kept foreign hands off 
this section of the Western Hemisphere ; it prevented the European 
Powers from making it a battle-ground for the acquisition of new 
territory ; hence, no diplomatic problems presented themselves for 
solution to bring the country to public attention, — it was kept 
isolated, as it were, from foreign entanglements, a good thing in 
one way, but harmful in another, as relegating it to its own obscurity. 

In the third place the ephemeral revolutions did not jeopardize 
in general the lives or property of foreigners, and consequently, our 
State Department was not called upon to interfere in the settle- 
ment of domestic or foreign claims ; it is only very lately that its 
aid has been invoked in this respect. 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

On account of these reasons the people of the Northern republic 
of the United States remained more or less ignorant of the geogra- 
phy, area, population, value, possibilities and general conditions 
of the great land to the south of them, and it was left to work 
out its own destiny in practically its own way. 

An additional explanation of the lack of knowledge in regard 
to it may be found in the fact, that North American Protestant 
Societies have been unable to a great extent to establish missions. 
As a general rule publicity and commerce follow in the wake of 
such missions. Many believe there is an inviting field for the 
Protestant missionary down there but such belief is in the minds of 
only those who do not understand the real situation. The Roman 
Church has been established so long and has gained such a hold on 
the people, naturally inclined to old-time institutions and traditions, 
that it is next to impossible for Protestantism to get a foothold. 
Of course, there are defections from the Church of Rome, but 
Protestantism has gained little or nothing thereby. True, a few 
Protestant churches have been established but the membership 
thereof for the most part is foreign, not native. As I have said in 
the chapter on Lima, Evangelistic bodies waste time and money in 
trying to make converts. 

Geographical knowledge in our time has made mighty progress 
and the kinship of the world is getting closer every day. Now, 
South America is gaining recognition, and the opening of the Pa- 
nama Canal, no doubt, will bring it to a mature development among 
the leading nations. Latin America, as it is frequently called, will 
soon be a very important integer in the sum total of All America. It 
presents unusual promise and splendid possibilities which cannot 
fail to be realized. There is no part of the world where foreign 
capital and skill are offered so great an opportunity as in the south- 
ern countries of this continent. South America to-day, probably, 
presents larger opportunities for the legitimate expansion of our 
commerce than any other country or group of countries. All parts 
of it in the very near future will want our products in greatly 
increased quantities and we shall correspondingly need theirs. 

It must be remembered that nine millions of square miles are 
occupied by South America, so it is easy to imagine the vast trade 
possibilities of this section of the Western Hemisphere. The 
United States has but three million square miles, therefore, Latin 
America has three times the area of our own country, instead of 
being, as some one has expressed it, "a mere handful of little 



INTRODUCTION. VII 

warring republics." When it is borne in mind that all the United 
States proper could be placed inside of Brazil, and then leave a 
space of about 200,000 square miles, the reader can form some idea 
of the vastness of the countries of the southern continent. 

The awakening of South America dates back but a comparatively 
short time, as already intimated, yet its progress has been marvelous. 
Millions upon millions of dollars have been spent on municipal 
and sanitary improvements and in beautifying and making healthy 
the towns and cities. In some of the large centers, like Rio, for 
example, malarial and yellow fevers have been stamped out almost, 
and the death-rate lowered to a remarkable degree. Such cleanli- 
ness as is observed in the public streets of Rio and some other 
cities reminds one forcibly of the boulevards of Paris. 

The South American of to-day is not by any means content to 
sit idly by and be satisfied with the incidental benefits which may 
come to him or his country, through the exploitation of its natural 
resources by foreign capital and energy. He intends to play the 
game himself, and in order to do so successfully he has been learn- 
ing its rules and strategy ; and in consequence South America is 
now on the verge of a forward movement which will before long 
astonish the world. 

The relations of the United States with the South American re- 
publics were never more friendly than now, and North American 
prestige and trade in Central and South America demands that 
while friendly relations exist, a strong effort should be put forth 
to strengthen and cement those relations by every means in our 
power. 

The late visit of ex-President Roosevelt, and also the visits of 
former Secretary Root, and present Secretary Bryan have awakened 
considerable interest in both countries, and it would be well if some 
other government officials were to make similar visits more often. 
They would inspire our people, our newspapers, our legislators and 
travelers to a new and more active appreciation of Latin-American 
republics. The above-mentioned visitors, through their speeches 
and personalities accomplished more in the few months they were 
there to bring about a new era of conditions and good-will between 
this country and our southern neighbors than all the diplomatic cor- 
respondence and visits of promoters and exploiters in a whole 
century. 

In travelling in South America, the tourist who can speak three 
or four different languages, will find himself more appreciated than 



VIII INTRODUCTION. 

the man who can only speak one beside his own. The power of 
a knowledge of languages is mighty. Kinship in this respect brings 
men closer together, and makes them sympathetic. This counts 
for much in Latin countries. Spanish is the common tongue of all 
South America, except Brazil, which has a population of nearly 
twenty millions and where Portuguese is the chief language, Spanish 
being seldom heard among its people. A good knowledge of French 
will carry a visitor through all parts of South America, including 
Brazil, but if be can speak some other languages as well his welcome 
will be the more assured. 

In the following account of my travels in South America under 
the Southern Cross, I will take my readers to Jamaica, in the 
West Indies, through the Caribbean Sea, past the haunts of the 
buccaneers to Panama. Then we will make our way along the 
western coast of South America to Lima, the famous capital of 
Peru. Having satisfied our curiosity in the lowlands of Peru 
we ascend from sea-level to the roof of that wonderful country 
over the highest railroad in the world. Returning to Lima we re- 
sume our journey from there to Arequipa in Southern Peru, and 
so on to Cuzco, the Incan capital. A branch line from here takes 
us up to Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable water in the world. 
From these great heights we descend to Bolivia and view wonderful 
La Paz, the most picturesque Indian city on earth. Sailing 
along the Chilean coast we reach Valparaiso, the New York of the 
Pacific, and from thence proceed to Santiago, the capital of Chile. 
From here we take a long and memorable ride by rail over the 
Andes and thence to Buenos Aires, the largest and most cosmopol- 
itan city of South America. Montevideo, with its beautiful coast 
scenery, is our next destination. Lastly we visit Rio and other 
Brazilian centers of interest, thus finishing a long, and let me hope, 
instructive trip over the principal highways and through the chief 
cities and towns of the great southern continent. We say adios to 
all, then turn our faces to the North and Home. 



WILLI A MSON B UCKMA N. 



Trenton, N. J., 
October, 1914. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Chapter I. 
Jamaica, "Flower of the Antilles" 1 

Chapter II. 
Where Buccaneers Held Sway 38 

Chapter III. 
Digging the Big Ditch 50 

Chapter IV. 
Panama to Lima 64 

Chapter V. 
Lima, the Capital of Peru 102 

Chapter VI. 

The Highest Railroad in the World 128 

Chapter VII. 
In Southern Peru 152 

Chapter VIII. 
On to the Incan Capital 175 

C ha Iter IX. 
Sailing Above the Clouds 229 

Chapter X. 
In Wonderful La Paz 242 

Chapter XI. 
From Mollendo to Valparaiso 288 

Chapter XII. 
In Busy Valparaiso 306 

Chapter XIII. 
The Capital of Chile 327 



XII CONTENTS. 

Chapter XIV. 
Crossing the Andes 350 

Chapter XV. 
The Capital of the Argentine 368 

Chapter XVI. 
Montevideo and Along the Coast 397 

Chapter XVII. 
In Rio de Janeiro 414 

Chapter XVIII. 

Around and About Rio 457 

Index 471 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



The Author Frontispiece Page^ 

"Remember the Maine" • 3 

Morro Castle, Havana 3 ^ 

Maine Street, Havana £ 

The Arcades, Havana 

Cathedral, Havana 

Marti Park, Havana 9 

On San Juan Hill, Cuba 1 1 

Harbor Scene, Port Antonio, Jamaica 15" 

Early Morning, Port Antonio 

"Little Rosie," Port Antonio • • 19^ 

The Author, Port Antonio 19 

Blue Hole, near Port Antonio 23" 

Main Street, Kingston, Before Earthquake 23" 

Terrible Havoc of Earthquake 27 

Among the Ruins, Kingston 27 

Main Street, a Year After Earthquake 29 

En Route to Market, Kingston 29 

Constant Springs, near Kingston 33 

Old Church, Spanish Town, Jamaica 33 

A Typical Scene, Jamaica 3i 

Author under the Palms, Jamaica 35 

Street Scene, Cristobal, Colon 

Suburb of Colon 41^ 

Columbus Statue and De Lesseps Cottage, Colon 4A 

Home of Negro Laborers, Canal Zone 47 

Culebra Cut, Panama ( 1908) So- 
Drilling on Culebra Cut (1908) 53 

Gang of Drillers on the Isthmus ^9' 

Chinese Vender on the Isthmus ^9 

Life on Shipboard, West Coast °r 

Preparing to Load Steer on the Huasco 69 

A Few Minutes Later 69 

Guayaquil, Ecuador 'J?? 

Waterfront, Guayaquil ?• 

Cathedral, Guayaquil 



XIV ILLUSTRATIONS 

Treeless Payta, Peru 85^ 

Another Treeless Town, West Coast ^ 

Bamboo Houses and Sand Street, Payta 87 

A Street Scene, Payta 87 

Dried Fish Market, Payta 91" 

Custom House, Payta 91' 

On the Plaza, Payta, "the Only Bit of Green" 95- 

Cathedral and Plaza, Payta 95 

Water-Carrier, Payta 97 

"Little Perla" from Payta 97 

Harbor Scene, Callao 99" 

Suburb of Callao 99 ' 

Cathedral, Lima 105 v 

Facade of Cathedral, Lima 105^ 

Cathedral and Plaza, Lima 109'" 

Distant View of Cathedral and Plaza, Lima 109 ! ' 

Street Scene, Lima 113^ 

Rimac River at Lima 1 13 v 

Milk Peddler, Lima 1 17^ 

Bull Ring, Lima 117 

Bolivar Statue, Lima, Author and Friends 125^ 

Quebrada Chaupichoca-Oroya, Peru 131^ 

Scene from Oroya R. R., Rimac River 135" 

Andean Plateau, en route to Cuzco 139 ' 

Foothills of the Andes from Mollendo 139" / 

Indians at Home, Cuzco 143' 

Indian Types, Andean Highlands 143" 

Indian in Poncho Carrying Rug 149 

Bit of Mollendo Harbor 155"' 

Cathedral, Mollendo 155- 

A Quiet Chat, Arequipa ". . . 157' 

Indians at a Station, Spinning 157' 

"Chicha" Sellers . 161" 

Mt. El Misti ( 19,200 'ft'.) from' Arequipa' ............... 16L 

Sand Crescents, Desert of Islay 163' 

Bleak Foothills of Andes 163^ 

Business Street, Arequipa, Showing Cathedral 167" 

Street and Church Facade, Arequipa 167- 

Llamas, Cuzco 169" 

Indians in Ponchos, Arequipa 169 lX 

Cathedral and Plaza, Arequipa 173" 

A Beautiful Facade, Arequipa 173' 

Patio of Hotel Ratti, Juliaca, Showing Author's Room. . . . 177 ; 

Indians Dining, Nature's "Knives and Forks" 177' 

Native Porters, Cuzco 179' 

Small Indian Shop, Cuzco 179' 

Water-jar Carriers, Cuzco 181" 

Quaint Signs of Indian Shops 181 

Quichua Woman With Baby 185 v 



ILLUSTRATIONS XV 

Incan Fountain and Water-Carriers 185' 

Incan Wall, Cuzco 187 

"Seats of the Incas," Overlooking Sacsahuaman Fortress. . 187' 

Spanish Doorway, Cuzco 191 

Terrace of Colcompata, Beheading Stone in Foreground. . . 191" 

Main Entrance, Sacsahuaman Fortress 193 

General View of Sacsahuaman 193 

Another View of Sacsahuaman 195- 

One of the Salients, Sacsahuaman 195- 

Massive Stone, Sacsahuaman, Author 199 

Cyclopean Wall, Palace of Inca Rocca, Cuzco 199 

Incan Wall, Showing Snake Ornament 201 

"Little Rosita," at 12-Sided Stone, Cuzco 201 

Incan Terrace Wall Above Cuzco 203 

Author, Plaza del Cabildo, Cuzco 207 

Plaza and Market from Cathedral Steps, Cuzco , 207 

Cathedral and La Compania Church, Cuzco 209 

Jesuit Church and University, Cuzco 209 

Santa Domingo Church, Site of Sun Temple, Cuzco 211 

Cloisters of Santo Domingo Church 211 

Corner Cross Near Santo Domingo Church 213 

Market Scene Before Cathedral, Cuzco 213 

La Merced Church, Church Cuzco 217 

Court of La Merced Monastery 217 

Arcade and Balconies, Main Square, Cuzco 219' 

Picturesque Spanish Gate, Cuzco 219 

A Picturesque Patio, Cuzco 221 

In Front of Hotel del Commercio 221' 

Strange Companions, Cuzco 225 

Again in Company, Cuzco 225* 

Llamas, Main Square, Cuzco 227' 

Getting Ready for Market, Cuzco 227 v 

Steamer Coya, Lake Titicaca 23 k 

Sunset, Lake Titicaca 235' 

Descendant of a People Who Ruled This Land 239 

Bird's-eye View of La Paz 243 

An Indian Group, La Paz 243 

Aymara Indians, La Paz 247 

Chola Woman and Baby, La Paz 247 

Chola Girls Going to Market, La Paz 249 

Market Scene Before Cathedral, La Paz 249 

Sunday Market Scene, La Paz 251 

Indian Costumes, Market, La Paz 251 

Chola Girl Leaving Cathedral, La Paz 255 

Old Spanish Residence, La Paz 2od l 

Gateway, Niche Cemetery, La Paz 257 

In Niche Cemetery, La Paz 2o7^ 

At the Fountain, La Paz 259 

Jug-Filling at Fountain, La Paz 259' 



XVI ILLUSTRATIONS 



•3 s 



Selling "Chuno" or Frozen Potatoes, La Paz 26o 

An Outskirt of La Paz 26o 

Village of Obrajes, Near La Paz 26o 

Roadside Scene, Obrajes 20. 

Group of Llamas, Obrajes 2t»y 

Indians at Home, Tiahuanaco 209 

Author at Entrance to Underground Passage, Tiahuanaco. . 171) 

Stairway of Kalasasaya Palace, Tiahuanaco 271' 

Monolithic Doorway of Old Cemetery, Tiahuanaco 273 

Monolithic Gateway, Tiahuanaco 273 

Cathedral at Tiahuanaco 273 

A Reminder of the Past 2// 

Author at Incan Idol, Tiahuanaco 281 ■ 

Monolithic Idol, Ruins of Tiahuanaco 281 

Indian Girl Spinning, Ruins of Tiahuanaco 28o 

Poncho Weaving, Tiahuanaco 283 

View of Guaqui £°*?, 

Tin and Silver Ore, Guaqui 28JL 

Mollendo, Peru, Roughest Harbor on West Coast 2»y 

Thinking of Other Days 289 

Guano-Covered Rocks off Coast of Chile 29r> 

Tocopilla, Chile 299 

La Serena, Chile °£> 

Harbor View, Valparaiso ^ 

Valparaiso and Harbor ^uy 

Old Houses, Valparaiso 6i:) _ 

A Ravine, Valparaiso ^lo 

Niche Cemetery, Valparaiso JjJ 

Training Ship, Naval College, Valparaiso 3Z1 

Naval Monument, Valparaiso ■ 3Z3 

Bird's-eye View of Santiago from Santa Lucia 3Z9 

Avenida Delicias, Santiago 329 

Another View from Santa Lucia ^33 

Santa Lucia Park ^3" 

The Alameda, Santiago *M 

Ladies in Mantas, Santiago ^ 

Cathedral from Plaza des Armes, Santiago 543 ^ 

Congressional Building, Santiago 343> 

Female Conductors, Santiago ^4/ 

Before the Railroad ^^ 

Volcano of Cotopaxi in Eruption ^3/ 

"Christ the Redeemer" . . 1 ™? 

Bird's-eye View of Buenos Aires from La Prensa 3/i 

Looking from La Prensa Dome 3/L 

Avenida de Mayo, Buenos Aires a/a 

Calle Florida, Buenos Aires a/o 

Plaza Victoria, Buenos Aires MV 

Capital and Congressional Building, Buenos Aires 3/9 

Picturesque Fountain, Buenos Aires 583 ■ 



ts 



ILLUSTRATIONS XVII 

Tomb of Belgrano, Buenos Aires 383 y 

"We Must Walk, Others Can Ride" 387 

In the Zoological Gardens, Buenos Aires 387' 

Lazama Park, Buenos Aires 39 L" 

A Delightful Walk, Lazama Park 391 

Palermo Park, Buenos Aires 395 

El Tigre River, Buenos Aires 395 

Plaza de la Constitucion, Montevideo 399 

Harbor Front, Santos, Brazil 407 

Santos, Brazil 407' 

Unloading Coffee, Santos 41 K 

The Cathedral, Santos 41L\ 

Bird's-eye View of Rio de laneiro 415' 

Rio from Gloria Hill " 415^ 

Beira Mar Showing Sugar Loaf, Rio 417"' 

Street Scene, Rio 417^ 

An Old Dwelling on Castle Hill, Rio 42 L 

Over Red Roofs and Thro' Tall Palms 42 Y 

Santa Anna Church, Rio 423 

Hotel International, Santa Thereza, Rio 423 

Royal Palms, "Corinthian Architecture," Rio 427 ! 

Royal Palms, Botanic Garden, Rio 427' 

Dom Pedro Monument, Rio 429^ 

A Bread-Fruit Tree, Rio 433' 

Street-Hucksters, Rio 433' 

"From House to House He Goes," Rio 435 

A Chicken Peddler, Rio 439 v 

"Chickens for Sale" — Another Style 439' 

"Dulces" Peddler, Rio 44 K 

"Sweet Drinks," Rio 441 

"Not All Is Carried on Foot," Rio 445" 

Ouaint Street Vender, Rio 445' 

Front of a Drink Shop, Rio 447 L 

The Monroe Palace, Avenida Central, Rio 447' 

Good Type of Negress, Rio 45 1 1 ' 

Broom and Basket Peddler, Rio 451"' 

"Scissors to Grind," Rio 453 1 

Fish Vender, Rio 453 

View from Curvello, Rio, showing Sugar Loaf 459 

En Route to Corcovado, Rio -^9 

Gate of Carioca Aqueduct, Rio 465" 

At Top of Corcovado, Rio 465 



UNDER THE 

SOUTHERN CROSS 

IN SOUTH AMERICA. 



CHAPTER I 

JAMAICA 
"flower of the Antilles" 

Annually, during the summer months, and even at other seasons, 
thousands of Americans rush off from their own shores to feast 
their eyes on the boasted beauties of faraway lands, which have 
been chronicled in song and story for centuries and depicted on 
canvas by the master spirits of successive ages. From childhood 
they have heard and read of these places, they have longed to see 
them for themselves, so when opportunity comes to gratify the long- 
ing they eagerly embrace it and start off with high hopes and keen 
anticipations of the delights which, they believe, await their coming. 

They wander in the nooks and byways of old Europe, from the 
banks of the Thames to the banks of the Volga, from the capes of 
Italy to the bluffs of Lapland ; they ramble through romantic Spain, 
vivacious France, classic Germany, and rugged Switzerland. With 
bounding hearts they sail down the placid waters of the blue Rhine, 
frowning fels and castled crags towering on either side ; they gaze 
with wonder and awe on the majestic Alps, on Mont Blanc, "the 
monarch of mountains," lifting his snow-capped head amid the rack 
of clouds ; they skim the sunkissed waves of the murmuring Medi- 
terranean, and glide into the Bay of Naples, above which Vesuvius, 
like a fiery sentinel, rears his lava crest against the cloudless cerulean 

1 



2 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

sky. Imperial Rome, with her crumbling ruins, the Forum and the 
Colisseum, has many a charm for them ; ancient Greece, with hoary 
Athens, and the Acropolis, still standing to testify to the splendors 
of a long-dead past, engage their attention, till, turning eastward 
to the land of the Turk and the home of the Cossack, they bid 
adieu to Europe and pass over into Asia. There Palestine hallowed 
by the footsteps of prophets and apostles and sanctified by the 
Redeemer of men, appeals to the fundamental instincts of their 
nature. Nazareth, Bethlehem, Gethsemane, Mount of Olives, and 
above all, Jerusalem — theatre of the world's greatest tragedy, and 
arena of the world's greatest triumph — are taken in their order. 
Still continuing East — Arabia, Persia, and the valley of the 
Euphrates and Tigris, are reached. Occult India, with its temples, 
pagodas, and sacred streams ; "Ceylon's lovely isle, where every 
prospect pleases and only man is vile"; the Orient — Cathay — "jeal- 
ous China, strange Japan," with their sun-temples and flowers and 
mysticism, — all have their attractions for the untiring tourist. The 
dreamy Philippines and Australia, lying directly under the shim- 
mering stars of the Southern Cross are not neglected. Then back 
by the smiling islands of the "Paradise of the Pacific" — back to great 
America, the "land of the free and the home of the brave," and the 
American tourist feels he has seen all that the Old World has to 
show him. Thus is the circle of the earth completed by many Ameri- 
can globe-trotters. 

Is the game worth the candle? Does the sight- seeing repay for 
the fatigues and inconveniences of travel, not to speak of the time 
spent and expense incurred in "doing" foreign lands? What is to 
be seen abroad that is so widely different from what we can look 
upon at home? 

After all, the world is but a small place, and one country is much 
the same as another ; the difference is only a matter of climate and 
season. Earth, sky and water are non-variants. The grass is just 
as green in America and the ethereal dome as blue as elsewhere. 
Our mountains and plains, lakes and rivers and natural landscapes 
can very favorably compare with those of any other continent. Our 
cities and towns may not be quite as old, nor yet as solid in regard 
to masonry; but in architectural splendor they can easily vie with 
and even surpass the boasted piles of other lands. Of course, we 
have not the historic associations of older civilizations, but apart 
from this consideration, our own country can rival any other. We 
have enough at our own doors to engross attention and arouse en- 




-REMEMBER THE MAINE' 




MORRO CASTLE, HAVANA 




MAIN STREET, HAVANA 




THE ARCADES, HAVANA 



•'FLOWER OF THE ANTILLES" / 

thusiasm, — why turn our backs to it and seek f ar-off shores ? 

A mountain, when limned against the perspective of the far hori- 
zon appears blue and of magnificent proportions, with its contour 
standing out in bold relief against the skyline, but on near approach 
it loses much of its impressiveness, and finally, when we reach it, 
we find it dull and uninteresting, nothing more than stones and 
boulders and stunted vegetation. 

It is the same with many foreign resorts. We conceive them as 
places of beauty and interest, but when we visit them they fall far 
short of our expectations. 

Within our own confines and around our coasts are sights and at- 
tractions quite as worthy of visiting as any the Eastern Hemisphere 
can offer from a scenic standpoint. 

Of all the regions adjacent to the United States, probably none 
are more attractive or present such varied scenes of both natural 
and artificial beauty as the lands lying in and around the green 
waters of the Caribbean Sea. 

From the islands of the West Indies, with their teeming hetero- 
geneous population of Spaniards, English, Negroes and Indians, 
to the lowlands of Central America, where, in the primeval soli- 
tudes of the dense wilderness the voices of humankind are all but 
unknown, we find truly a variety to please the tastes of all. 

These lands in their emerald settings present for consideration a 
great many natural contrasts in snow-capped mountains, temperate 
uplands, broad savannas, grassy plains and plateaus, open valleys, 
dense jungles, and mighty rivers rushing their muddy waters on- 
ward to the sea. As for natural products, they yield everything 
known to the American tropics. 

There is a strong commerce, even under present conditions. 
With the opening of the Isthmian Canal there can be no doubt that 
trade will get such an impetus as will give these islands and Carib- 
bean countries a very prominent place in the traffic and barter of the 
nations. There will also be an influx of immigration. Many wilJ 
turn to the South, looking for business in the cities ; and many, too, 
will penetrate into the wilderness with a view to development or 
for the purpose of seeking the products they supply. 

Of the West Indies, Cuba has been the most prominent in the 
public eye. Trampled for centuries under the iron heel of Spain, 
at length, thanks to the United States, the island is arising grad- 
ually from an inglorious past and will be eventually able to work 
out its own salvation. 



8 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Cuba has been poetically styled "the Pearl of the Antilles," the 
group which also includes Haiti, Porto Rico, and Jamaica. If, on 
account of delicate tracery of landscape and general color scheme, 
such a name can be fittingly applied to this, the largest island of 
the group, Jamaica is no less worthy to be styled "the Flower of 
the Antilles,"' for, as regards arborage, foliage, vegetation and horti- 
cultural loveliness, this little bit of the British Dominions, lying at 
Uncle Sam's side-door, only ninety miles south of Cuba, by far 
eclipses all the other lands of the Caribbean. Its flora is rich, rare, 
and varied, including the wilder growths of the Temperate Zone 
with all the gorgeous luxuriance of the Tropics, and its vegetable 
and mineral resources are abundant. 

Jamaica has the oldest history of any of the larger islands. It 
was discovered by Columbus on his second western voyage in 
May, 1494. It was taken possession of and settled by the Spaniards 
in 1509. Under their despotic sway the natives dwindled fast away 
until, by the middle of the seventeenth century, with the exception 
of the Maroons (runaway slaves), they were totally extinct. Some 
of these half-breed descendants of the old natives still survive. 

In May, 1655, a British expedition under Admirals Penn and 
Venables captured the island, and Great Britain was confirmed in 
possession by the Treaty of Madrid in 1670. The British, on be- 
coming masters, quickly realized the possibilities of the sugar plan- 
tations, and, to cultivate the latter, great numbers of Negroes were 
imported from the African slave-stations. In six years, between 
1780 and 1786, more than 600,000 blacks were bought and brought 
over by Englishmen for a life of slavery in this island. These 
slaves were treated with merciless severity, much worse than those 
under the Southern planters on the American mainland. Often 
they were goaded to desperation by their cruel taskmasters and 
on several occasions during the eighteenth century, they rose in 
open rebellion against the white tyranny, but superior physical 
force and the munitions of their taskmasters quickly subdued them. 

At length the eyes of civilization began to look with angry glances 
on Negro slavery in Jamaica. Several of the home statesmen be- 
came ashamed, spoke bitterly against it, and arraigned their own 
country in the pillory of public scorn. Wilberforce denounced the 
slavery in withering scorn ; Gladstone, then a young man, spoke out 
against it in no uncertain tones ; Daniel O'Connell thundered his 
Irish invectives against the "damnable system." American states- 
men, too, said, "British West Indian slavery must stop." 




CATHEDRAL, HAVANA 




MARTI PARK, HAVANA, FORMERLY CENTRAL PARK 




ON SAN JUAN HILL, CUBA 



"FLOWER OF THE ANTILLES" 13 

The Negro insurrection of 1831 hastened the approach of eman- 
cipation. In 1833 the Emancipation Act was passed, providing for 
the total extinction of slavery in the island after August 1, 1838. 
The Act awarded some thirty million dollars as compensation to 
the slaveholders. 

Still, after this time there were much bickering and conflicts 
between the blacks and whites, and in 1865 another formidable 
insurrection took place. As a result the old Parliamentary Govern- 
ment was abolished in 1866 and the island reduced to the grade of 
a Crown Colony. Representative government was re-established 
in 1884. The ruler is a governor appointed by the Crown, who is 
assisted by an elected council. 

The population of the island is about 800,000, of whom more 
than one-half are black. There are over 120,000 half-breeds, 120,000 
Indians, some 50,000 coolies, and the remainder, consisting of a 
little more than 20,000, are whites, chiefly English. The princi- 
pal exports are sugar, tobacco, rum, coffee, bananas and dyewoods. 

There are some very fine agricultural districts. A great part of 
the soil is formed by sedimentary deposits derived from the red and 
white limestone formations from the primitive granite that forms 
the main structure of the island. Some 200,000 acres are under 
tillage and 400,000 acres in pasture. About one-seventh of the til- 
lage is devoted to sugar and coffee plantations. The growing of 
sugar-cane being no longer profitable, the banana has now taken 
its place. The whole area of the island is about 4,200 square miles; 
its length 144 miles, and its greatest width 50 miles. The coast 
is indented with small harbors and inlets. 

The climate is humid and warm at the sea, but in the interior or 
high regions it is mild and dry, and is said to be well adapted for 
those suffering from pulmonary affections. 

Education is very well looked after in Jamaica. There are more 
than 800 elementary schools, while a university, college, and high 
school at Hope, near Kingston, provide for the higher branches of 
learning. 

This really interesting little island is within a short sail from our 
shores and will well repay a visit in the experiences gained. 

With modern conveniences in our advanced stage of navigation, 
going South is now a very easy and pleasant journey. Swift and 
comfortable steamers leave New York at regular intervals. The 
traveler on his way can watch at his ease the colors of the ocean 



14 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

change day by day until from the dark blue of the North they merge 
into the deep sea-green of the sunny South. 

During our four days' voyage to this land of flowers and sun- 
shine, of wooded mountains and tropical glades, of handsome villas 
and picturesque towns, we traversed the Gulf Stream, touched the 
western fringe of the Sargasso Sea, sighted San Salvador, now 
Watling's Island — the first soil of the Western Continent trodden 
by the feet of Columbus, who landed there October 12, 1492 — crossed 
the Tropic of Cancer into the heat and sun-glare of the Torrid 
Zone, steamed down through the Windward Passage, past Cape 
Maysi, the eastern extremity of Cuba, and came into the glittering 
waters of an unobstructed sea, on the horizon of which we caught 
glimpses of "fair Jamaica," basking like some living thing of beauty 
amid the emerald waves. Soon its Blue Mountains appeared in 
profile against the cloudless sky, and in a few hours the harbor of 
Port Antonio unfolded itself before our gaze like some grand pano- 
rama which compels the admiration of beholders. The scene was 
one of impressive grandeur, not to be duplicated outside these lati- 
tudes and probably in no other place elsewhere in the islands. A 
flood of glowing sunlight surrounded us, while overhead the deep 
blue vault was unobscured by the tiniest speck of cloud or shadow. 
The Negroes, on the wharf in their white clothes, accentuated by 
the ebony of their countenances, presented a moving color effect 
which diversified the charm of the surroundings. Beyond the wharf 
lay the palm-fringed streets leading up to the town. 

Having got through the routine of the Customs, with a few con- 
genial friends I repaired to the justly famous Hotel Titchfield, 
a hostelry conducted on the American plan and which can favor- 
ably compare in cuisine, comfort, polite attendance, and prices with 
those of much greater pretensions in America and Europe. From 
the verandas and balconies of the Titchfield the visitor may enjoy 
a view of some of the most beautiful scenes in the Tropics. I 
have visited many of the renowned haunts of both the Old and 
New World and looked upon nature with enraptured eyes when 
she donned her fairest garments and flashed her rarest jewels in 
the sunshine of Eastern lands, but never did I look upon her in 
more dazzling array of gorgeous loveliness than from the verandas 
of the Titchfield Hotel in Port Antonio. A wealth of tropical 
scenery lay before us, unrivalled in the rich coloring of tree and 
flower, perennially kept green by showers and sunshine. Here, in 
the presence of ocean and mountain — those two grandest physical 




HARBOR SCENE, PORT ANTONIO 




EARLY MORNING, PORT ANTONIO HARBOR 



15 



"FLOWER OF THE ANTILLES" 17 

expressions of sublimity — the traveler beholds on every side the 
charm of this entrancing region. Sea and sky, mountain and valley, 
houses and plantations, forests and flowers, all combine to produce 
an effect truly indescribable in its appealing and diversified beauty. 
One is compelled to exclaim in rapture: "Surely this is a land 
beloved of the gods, one on which they have showered their choicest 
gifts and breathed their sweetest incerse." 

At our feet rolled the sea in its ev j r-changing aspects of light 
and color. In the morning its waters take on the splendor of the 
sky and reflect such a brilliancy in a myriad of iridescent tints as 
would be the despair of any artist, however great his mastery of 
colors. At eventide, when the western sun, before sinking behind 
St. Mary's blue hills, kisses a night farewell to the dancing wave- 
lets and with his slanting rays gilds them with sheens of living 
light, it seems as if the onlooker were gazing on some golden avenue 
leading to the splendors of another world. 

The sky, too, is a never-ending source of delight, especially when 
the pink and purple lights of dawn flood land and sea with soft 
effulgence. At sunset the clouds, mingling with and reflecting the 
flaming shafts, present such a maze and medley of variegated lights 
and colors and kaleidoscopic beauty as defy man to even attempt 
an imitation of the glorious reality. The night also is particularly 
impressive, either when the sapphire sky is studded with brilliants 
scintillating down to earth their diamond points of light, or when 
the moon rides high in the cloudless vault of heaven while the 
waves of old ocean croon their eternal lullaby to the palm-fringed 
shore. 

Apart from the surrounding natural scenery, the quaint old town 
of Port Antonio is not without a luring power over the visitor. It 
has a population of about 2,000, but outside those engaged in the 
fruit exportation business and tourists there are not a score of 
white people in the town. The harbor is divided into two parts by 
a jutting promontory of coral rock, carpeted with green turf. On 
this peninsula stand the remains of a picturesque ancient fort, and 
behind it the old barracks. From the farther margin of each har- 
bor the hills rise step by step, profusely covered with rich vege- 
tation and plumed with many a tall cocoanut, among which the 
green blinds and the red roofs of the houses look out seaward. 
Behind these again mount ridge upon ridge of the Blue Mountain 
Range to a height of more than 7,500 feet, right up into the clouds 
that hang about the peaks, A little way outside the mouth of the 



18 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

harbor white-crested waves break against the iron rock on which 
the red Folly Point lighthouse is perched. The fort, the remains of 
which are still seen, was built by the English in the rugged and 
perilous days when they first wrenched the island from Spanish 
control. 

The most commanding artificial work in Port Antonio is the 
Titchfield Hotel, which is built on the hill of the same name, over- 
looking the harbor, and from which it is reached by a short, circling 
drive. Many travelers have said that the site of this hotel is the 
most beautiful on earth. The building itself is an imposing, modern 
structure. The piazza, stretching along three sides of the house, 
is over 800 feet in length, and from 16 to 26 feet in width. The 
hotel is lighted throughout by electricity, has its own cold storage, 
plunger elevator, and every contrivance exacted by modern 
patrons. The rooms are adapted to the tropical climate, being large 
and airy. The door of every sleeping-room is of lattice, so as to 
allow a free circulation of air. The hotel was named for the Mar- 
quis of Titchfield, whose father, the Duke of Portland, did a great 
deal for the island of Jamaica. It is leased by a Boston firm, 
Ainslie & Grabow. The good management and comfort of the 
Titchfield doubtless have much to do in attracting visitors. 

The people of Port Antonio are more interesting than the build- 
ings. They are of a varied assortment. Of course, the Negroes 
preponderate, as everywhere else in Jamaica. There is a goodly 
number of East Indian coolies. The first coolies were introduced 
into the island in 1840 to cultivate the fields. There are some crim- 
son-colored Maroons, half-breed descendants of the early inhabi- 
tants who refused to be conquered by the English ; originally Ma- 
roons were the issue of the native Indians and Africans. Other 
blood has since mingled in their veins. They still keep independent 
and aloof. They have nothing in common with the ordinary Negro, 
on whom they look down with supremest contempt. The almost 
ubiquitous Chinaman is also found in Port Antonio. White tran- 
sients are always coming and going in large numbers. 

There are many places in the vicinity of Port Antonio well 
worth visiting. The Golden Vale, once a great sugar estate, now 
one of the largest banana plantations in the island, is situated in a 
very rich district, watered by the Rio Grande, one of those swift, 
erratic streams which flow pleasantly within narrow limits one day, 
but the next are swollen to turgid torrents by the storms in the sur- 
rounding mountains. Hundreds of acres of the old cane-fields have 




"LITTLE ROSIE," PORT ANTONIO 




: "-■' 



THE AUTHOR, PORT ANTONIO 



"FLOWER OF THE ANTILLES" 21 

been converted into banana plantations. Near the boundary of what 
was the old sugar estates are great stone buildings formerly used in 
the crushing of cane and the general manufacture of sugar and 
rum ; also for storage and other purposes ; now they serve as shops, 
depots, and schoolhouses for the children of those engaged on the 
plantations. 

One day during our stay at Port Antonio we drove over to the 
Blue Hole, six miles from the town. It is a basin of water fringed 
around by a dense growth of cocoanut palms, bananas, and other 
tropical vegetation. When these are reflected in the pool the water 
seems to turn from a pale turquoise to a deep amethyst. With the 
sun shining full upon it from a cloudless noonday sky the water 
appears a brilliant sapphire blue, presenting a wonderful picture of 
vivid coloring, like a veritable sapphire in an emerald setting. 

Fain would we have lingered longer around the seductive old 
town, but our itinerary compelled us to say good-by to its associa- 
tions and charms. We were indeed loath to leave the Titchfield, 
with its dreamy surroundings, beautiful vistas and real comforts, 
but there were other places to see on the island, so we had to be 
on the move. 

We crossed the island by automobile on our way to Kingston. 
It was one of the pleasantest journeys of my experience. For a 
time we glided along the coast between the sea and magnificent 
groves of cocoanut-trees and plantations of bananas, passing St. 
Margaret's Bay, Hope Bay, Buff Bay, and other coastal indenta- 
tions, until Annotta Bay was reached. Here, after a few winding 
turns, our horseless carriage began to toil up rather steep grades, 
for we were now crossing between the foothills of the Blue Moun- 
tains. The up-grade wasn't of long duration. Soon we began to 
descend through wildly picturesque scenery, all that the eye could 
desire in that respect. We passed little villages and hamlets em- 
bowered in tropical shrubs and plants, many of them gorgeous in 
splendid blooms and multicolored flowers. 

We made a stop at Castleton, the Government Botanical Garden, 
where we had luncheon on the grounds of an excellent hotel amid 
feathery bamboo trees and other tropical arborage and foliage. 
Castleton is situated in a deep valley, entirely surrounded by lofty 
mountains. Through this valley tumbles and foams the Wag Water 
River like the true mountain stream it is. Nature and the govern- 
ment have made a garden of this place, with all the advantages of 
loveliness and fertility that a rich valley and a beautiful stream com- 



22 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

bined can furnish. Here are found not only the native flowers and 
plants, but hundreds of specimens imported from other lands. 
North, South, East and West, the Occident and the Orient, have 
been called upon to contribute to its beauties of natural selection. 
It contains some fifty thousand plants, such as kolanuts, cacao, olive, 
sugar-cane, rubber plants, nutmeg, clove, black pepper, mango, va- 
nilla, cardamom, pineapple, cinnamon, tobacco-plants and tea- 
shrubs. I noticed a fine specimen of palmatum and a magnificent 
collection of East and West Indian orchids. Some of our party 
particularly admired the Victoria Regina, or Queen Victoria lily, 
which down there is commonly called the Amazon water-lily ; others 
were interested in the upas-trees and the traveler's tree of Madagas- 
car, from the latter of which the thirsty wanderer may obtain a 
cooling drink. Taste and skill have combined to arrange the beau- 
tiful plants and flowers in a way most pleasing to the eye. The 
place truly looks like a veritable Eden, a spot indeed in which nymph 
or naiad, or the gods themselves, might dwell. 

A nineteen-mile "spin" over a fine macadamized road brought 
us from Castleton to Kingston. This road, to my idea, is the best 
Dn the island. At intervals trees arch and interlace overhead, like 
the roof of a Gothic cathedral. In places the Wag Water River 
can be seen, with alluvial meadows on either side, tobacco-fields, 
fields of sago, ginger, tamarind, cocoa and coffee, groves of cocoa- 
nut, miles of plantain and banana, hillsides covered with ferns, 
houses wattled and mortared with clay, surrounded by orchids with 
their great red flowers glowing like spots of flame from the cotton- 
wood branches. We were almost sorry when our arrival at Kings- 
ton brought an end for the time being to our pleasant trip from 
Castleton. 

Kingston, with a population of 50,000, is the capital. It stands 
on a plain, backed by mountains, at the head of Port Royal Bay. 
Port Royal was the former capital, but its destruction by an earth- 
quake in 1692 led to the foundation of the present city. Kingston 
also has had its share of earthquakes, and such a large share that 
the city of the present day is but little better than a wreck of its 
former greatness. Nevertheless, the streets are wide and regular, 
the houses of good structure, with broad verandas, for the mo«t 
part surrounded by well-cultivated gardens of flowers and tropical 
plants. 

There is a museum, an hospital, public library, botanic garden, 
street railway, electric power and light, warehouses, stores, hotels, 




BLUE HOLE, NEAR PORT ANTONIO 







MAIN STREET, KINGSTON, BEFORE EARTHQUAKE 



"FLOWER OF THE ANTILLES" 25 

public marts, in a word, all the addenda of a modern commonwealth. 
The harbor is one of the finest in the world, protected from the sea 
by a long point of land, at the extremity of which are the forts and 
naval arsenal of Port Royal. Being the principal naval station of 
Great Britain in the West Indies, there is always a considerable 
military force stationed on the hills behind the city, where the 
climate is dry, cool, and pleasant. 

I had visited Kingston some years before, but its architectural 
pretensions had suffered much in the interim. It is a city which 
time and again has felt the fury of the elements. In 1880 it was 
severely injured by a hurricane; two years later a great fire caused 
much destruction. The inhabitants bravely tried to repair the 
damages of both misfortunes, and had very well succeeded when 
in 1907 an earthquake left the place almost as great a wreck in 
proportion as was San Francisco after the terrible calamity of 1905. 
I remembered very well how beautiful, how even imposing 
Kingston had looked previous to the 1907 disaster ; now, though the 
plucky town has tried to rally, many marks still remain to show the 
heavy blows that were dealt. The Hotel Myrtle Bank bears the 
same name, but it is not the same building. The old one went down 
to ruin in the earthquake. Many other fine buildings tottered and 
fell. Some have been rebuilt, but many houseless sites still remain 
with their ruins mutely testifying to the damage of the earthquake. 
As I look upon them a cold tremor runs down the back, I think 
of the poor Italians of Calabria and the sufferers of Sicily and 
other victims of these awful visitations. I faintly realize their 
feelings in time of calamity and learn to sympathize with those left 
homeless by the paroxysms of nature and the cataclysmic fury of 
the elements. 

Despite the misfortunes that have befallen it, Kingston is still 
a town of energy and bustle — there is more of both than one en- 
counters in any other of the West Indian towns. It holds an im- 
portant place in the commerce of the world, and a vast amount of 
trade is carried on through its port. Its water-front teems with 
shipping; along its docks there are always to be found steamers and 
sailing vessels from all parts of the world. Vast quantities of the 
products of the island, such as sugar, coffee, rum, logwood, fruits, 
pimento and indigo, are shipped from its port, while the imports 
from Europe and America are large. Banks, life and fire insurance 
companies, building societies and discount associations flourish and 
do a large business. 



26 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

The architecture of the town is a curious combination, part Span- 
ish, part Old English. Some of the principal buildings are the 
Theatre Royal, the Hospital on North Street, the Colonial Bank 
on Duke Street and the Court House on Harbor Street. Some of 
the parish churches, the Cathedral, the Library and other buildings 
named above, which had interested me on my first visit, were no 
longer standing. They were in ruins from the earthquake. The 
Institute of Jamaica, which was on East Street, contained the 
Museum and Library. In the Library were the famous "Shark 
Papers" which led to the destruction of the brig Nancy in 1799. 
The Nancy was owned by naturalized Germans of the United 
States, and was commanded by Thomas Briggs. She left Balti- 
more in July, 1799, and cleared for Curacao. In the latter part 
of August she was captured by the English cutter Sparrow and 
taken to Port Royal. It was declared that the Nancy was a lawful 
prize, seized on the high seas as the property of persons who were 
enemies of the British realm. The matter was brought before the 
Court of Vice-Admiralty at Kingston and probably nothing would 
have resulted but for the discovery of papers which a Lieutenant 
Fitton found in a shark caught off Jacmel while cruising there, 
and which were of an incriminating nature, showing that the brig 
was engaged in contraband service. 

There are many beautiful residences in and around Kingston. In 
driving through the suburbs the traveler may notice unattractive, 
high, dusty walls, but let him step through the door of the wall 
and he will find himself in the midst of charming grounds, gardens 
and lawns, made beautiful with exotic plants ; he will see great 
sumptuous houses with wide verandas commanding splendid views ; 
he will feel the air balmy and scent-laden, and above all he will 
find the truest and freest of hospitality. 

Kingston is not at all the hot, unhealthy city that the imagina- 
tions of many people picture. As to sanitary conditions, it is quite 
healthy. A strong breeze springs up about ten o'clock every morn- 
ing and continues till about four in the afternoon. This fresh 
ocean air, locally and popularly called "The Doctor," gives free 
medical aid to all. The immediate and pleasant result of the "Doc- 
tor's" visit is the preservation of health and conservation of comfort. 

It is very interesting to walk about the streets of Kingston and 
watch the people going about their every-day avocations. You will 
see whites, blacks, coolies, Chinese and many other nondescripts, 
mingling in easy familiarity. Here you will meet a tall negro 




^ .^' 




KINGSTON, SHOWING HAVOC OF EARTHQUAKE 




AMONG THE RUINS, KINGSTON 



r, 



jr 



x^ 




MAIN STREET. KINGSTON, YEAR AFTER EARTHQUAKE 




^^^fa **_. ' ,_ 1 -^^ 



>' 





EIV ROUTE TO MARKET, KINGSTON 



"FLOWER OF TFIE ANTILLES" 31 

Zouave, with turban and in tight jacket, swaggering along in all the 
pomp of uniform; there you will see an Indian coolie woman gor- 
geously apparelled, her small hands and feet ornamented with 
silver bangles and her lithe, sinuous body enmeshed in parti-colored 
garments. You will see vehicles of all kinds — stylish turnouts from 
the fifty-horsepower tonneau of the wealthy and the burnished car- 
riages of the Governor to the crazy mule carts and lumbering drays 
of the poorer classes. You may be pestered by the hackmen, solicit- 
ing trade, for it is claimed they are the most obtrusive and offensive 
in the world. In Jamaica, however, as in every other up-to-date 
center, the taxi is fast taking the place of the hack. 

There are several fine hotels in Kingston. The largest and best 
is the new Myrtle Bank, on the site of the old one, three stories 
high, built of brick, on three sides of a square in the centre of which 
is a flower garden. The charges are quite reasonable, $2.50 and 
$3.00 a day, and less by the week. 

The markets of Kingston are one of the sights of the town, the 
Jubilee Market at the northwest of the Parade and the Victoria 
Market at the foot of King Street being famous. They are well 
stocked with much variety. Here are found meat, poultry, fish of 
rainbow colors, turtle, tropical fruits and vegetables of all kinds, 
brought down overnight, mainly on women's heads, from the inte- 
rior parts of the island. 

Food supplies are generally cheaper than in the North. Fruits 
are especially low in price and of great variety, such as mangoes, 
oranges, bananas, custard-apples, sappodillas, guavas, star-apples, 
papaws, avocado pears, lemons and many other kinds indigenous 
to the soil. 

Some of the chief delights of the tourist are the many curio shops, 
with their great varieties of curiosities and knick-knacks at very 
low prices. I visited several of these places. In one I was 
shown what to me appeared a very peculiar texture. For want of 
a better name I may term it "nature-woven lace." I was told 
that it comes from the fibre of a small native tree called the "bira- 
bira." When a branch of this tree is crushed, there is a fibrous 
pith, instead of a soft one, which contains a mass of lace-like fila- 
ments apparently woven into fabric form in the loom of nature. 
When pressed out to fullest extent a branch yields about thirty 
square inches of fabric. The material is used especially by Ameri- 
can ladies to trim their ippi-appi hats while on the island, also by the 



32 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

natives as bridal veils, handkerchiefs, mosquito curtains, etc. Al- 
though very delicate in single sheet form, it can be used for tow- 
ropes on the small streams, for mule harness and for fence-rope 
when well twisted. In its fibrous pith form, after the bark is 
removed, the matter is of a soft, creamy white, beautiful in itself. 
When in lace form it is soft and lustrous, and after being exposed 
to the tropical sun for a little while it becomes bleached to a daz- 
zling white. I have looked on many of Nature's handiworks, 
but I regard this wood-lace as one of her most exquisite achieve- 
ments. Whether the beautiful fabrics will become of any commer- 
cial value is hard to tell. The fibres that produce them are there, — 
it is for the ingenious to find out if they can be utilized in such a 
way as to cover the cost of manufacture and yield a margin. 

The Constant Springs Hotel is situated six miles from the capital 
city on one of the old-time estates, now out of cultivation, at the 
foot of a range of the Blue Mountains. It is a delightful hostelry, 
and many attractive spots are in the vicinity, the chief center of 
interest being Spanish Town, thirteen miles from Kingston. It is 
an old place founded by the Spanish about 1523, who christened 
it Santiago de la Vega. In early times it was a place of wealth and 
fashion, but to-day it is little more than a country village, its prin- 
cipal attractions being its beautiful public square, filled with tropical 
plants and flowers, its fine old cathedral, one of the best specimens 
of Spanish architecture on the island, and the temple erected in 
honor of Admiral Rodney. In the cathedral we saw many hand- 
some monuments and tablets, and under our feet were numerous 
slabs with curious records such as one often finds in old cemeteries. 
One of these especially attracted attention, as, after recording some 
facts relative to the deceased, it assured us that the sleeper "died 
amid much applause." Was he an actor who fell before the foot- 
lights, we wondered, or some great orator haranguing a multitude 
who hung entranced on his words ? 

This slab reminded me of a still more remarkable inscription 
carved on the tomb of Lewis Galdy at Green Bay. That unfortu- 
nate, or rather fortunate, individual was one of the lucky victims of 
the great Port Royal earthquake. His epitaph states that he "was 
swallowed up by the earthquake, and by the Providence of God 
was, by another shock, thrown into the sea, and miraculously saved 
by swimming until a boat took him up. He lived many years after 
in great reputation, beloved by all who knew him and much lamented 
at his death." 




CONSTANT SPRINGS, NEAR KINGSTON 




OLD CHURCH, SPANISH TOWN, JAMAICA 



33 




A TYPICAL SCENE, JAMAICA 




AUTHOR UNDER THE PALMS, JAMAICA 



"FLOWER OF THE ANTILLES" 37 

I have endeavored to give a sketch of the "Flower of the An- 
tilles," but I know how very imperfect it is. Jamaica is simply 
indescribable, beyond the most graphic pen to give a word picture 
of its captivating, entrancing scenery. To a marvellous beauty 
of mountain form, rivalling the Hartz of Europe or the Appala- 
chian chain of America, it adds a luxuriance of tropical vegeta- 
tion which neither Europe nor America can give. From almost 
any situation there are views so diversified that wherever you may 
turn a new picture delights the eye — depths of shadows, bursts of 
light, charming dells and woody plains. The heavy timber trees on 
the mountainsides, the lovely verdure of the cultivated plains and 
hills, the common flowers and even the weeds, are rich in rare color- 
ing. The banks of the rivers and smaller streams are fringed with 
every growth that abundant nature can produce in this congenial 
clime. The seashore is lined with trees and shrubs in picturesque 
confusion. The wild seaside grapevines are in many spots turned 
into verdant arbors, and groves of stately bamboo-trees often form 
themselves into systematic archways like the aisles of some splendid 
Gothic church. On every hand grows the palm and the cocoanut, 
the mountain cabbage, the plantain, the African rose, the tamarind, 
with oranges, oleanders, scarlet cordiums, grenadillas, lilacs, silken- 
leaved portlandias, mixed with a prodigious variety of minor 
flowers, fruits and shrubs, all combining a picture to ravish the 
soul of the artist and captivate the heart of the botanist. Truly, 
Jamaica is a dreamland where life glides onward like a summer 
stream kissed by the sun of noon. 

Lost Garden of Eden, Flower of the Antilles, Bower of the Gods, 
Fairyland of Flowers and Sunshine, in dreams I revisit thy shores 
and bask in the delights of thy heaven-blessed clime, waking I 
salute thee and exclaim, "Ave atque Vale!" 



CHAPTER II 
WHERE BUCCANEERS HELD SWAY 

SHIMMERING SEAS AND LAUGHING LANDS WHERE 
PLUNDERING PIRATES PREYED 

On leaving the harbor of Kingston our steamer was surrounded 
by a veritable swarm of seemingly aquatic human beings, mostly 
negro boys and girls, churning the water into foam with their arms 
and legs as they jostled one another while importuning the pas- 
sengers to throw them coins. "Just a shilling, Massa!" "Missus, 
a sixpence !" "Only a penny, lady !" and such like solicitations. 
Many, leaning over the taffrail, hearkened to their appeals, more 
for the sake of seeing these apparently amphibious creatures dive 
for the money than for the purpose of gratifying their impecunious 
requests. Certainly the divers displayed great skill, for almost as 
soon as the coins struck the water they were seized and brought up 
in their shining white teeth, themselves spluttering and splashing 
the while, and shaking the water from their hair like so many huge 
Newfoundland dogs after a plunge. They remind one of the nimble 
nymphs of the Hawaiian Islands, who swim out to the steamers 
anchoring off the coral reef at Honolulu, but the Kanaka maidens 
are more graceful and skilful in their movements. 

As we glided out into the smooth waters of the Caribbean we 
looked back to shore. Port Royal, with its low, red-roofed houses, 
crouched on our right amid the sheltering cocoanut palms, like some 
silent sentinel lurking in an Eastern jungle and trying to hide from 
view in the dense foliage of the surroundings. The last vestige of 
the Blue Mountains, rising abruptly from the water and covered 
with dark masses of vegetation, looked as if hanging over Kings- 
ton and keeping watch like a guardian genius over its sleeping 
beauty. This was the farewell glimpse of fair Jamaica, for soon 

38 



THE BOUNDING BUCCANEERS 39 

the shores of the island faded away on the receding horizon and 
we found ourselves encompassed only by sea and sky. With the 
prow of our vessel turned almost due south we were cleaving those 
sun-kissed waves of the green Caribbean which constitute part of 
what was once known as the Spanish Main, and which was the 
scene of many desperate encounters in the wild and lawless days of 
the bounding buccaneers, when these seafaring robbers and cut- 
throats swept both sea and land, instilling terror into the hearts of 
all who had the misfortune to cross their path. 

These buccaneers were European adventurers and desperadoes, 
principally English, French, and Dutch who, both separately and 
in combination, harassed the Spaniards, stole their property, and 
seized their vessels on the high seas. The origin of the term is 
peculiar. The natives of Hispaniola, the modern Haiti, were accus- 
tomed to hunt cattle and hogs for food supplies. When slaughtered 
the flesh was dried and smoked over a fire of green branches and 
leaves. When thus prepared it was called boucan, and was very 
palatable and good to eat. When the first roving traders and 
privateers came to the island, they liked the boucan so well that 
they began hunting and boucanning for themselves, and several 
remained permanently on shore for this purpose. These were joined 
by outlaws and refugees from the other islands, and soon there 
were so many of them that they established a base of trade and 
supply for the rovers and smugglers on the small island of Tortuga, 
lying off the northern coast of Hispaniola. They became known 
as boucaniers, a word which finally came to be spelt 
b-u-c-c-a-n-e-e-r-s. They made the little island of Tortuga their 
headquarters for a lengthened time until 1638, when a Spanish 
force in the absence of the hunters, swooped down upon it and 
massacred wantonly every man, woman, and child they found. 
When the hunters — there were three hundred — returned and 
looked upon their slaughtered dead, they took an oath to avenge 
them. They recruited their number from still more desperate bands 
and from thenceforward waged relentless fury against the Span- 
iards and all things Spanish. They took to the sea, and in a few 
years had gathered together a considerable fleet of vessels, the sole 
object of which was plunder, pillage, and marine marauding of 
every kind against Spanish merchantmen and privateers, or those 
sent out to hunt down these crimson-stained corsairs of the Indies. 
These fierce fomorians of the deep were as wild and sanguinary a 
band of frenzied freebooters as ever trod a quarter-deck, yet they 



40 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

were picturesque withal. They dressed with a view to inspire terror 
in their prey. Their bodies, mostly naked to the waist, were tanned 
and weather-beaten and inured to the scorching suns of the trop- 
ics ; they wore pantaloons of coarse canvas, dyed and stiffened with 
the blood of bulls and pigs, held up by belts of raw-hide, bristling 
with deadly knives, dirks, and daggers. On their feet were huge, 
square-toed, pigskin boots held together by cleats and long nails ; 
they wore no stockings. They allowed their hair and beards to 
grow and never combed them, so that their appearance was more 
of the brute than the human. Slung across their shoulders or gir- 
dled to their sides they carried long-barrelled firelocks, loaded with 
ounce balls. In any engagement they never asked for quarter and 
they never gave any. It was war to the knife and the knife to the 
hilt every time. Hatred of the Spaniards was the breath of their 
nostrils — their religion, an undying enmity to the race of Castile and 
Leon. They imagined themselves justified in every attack on Span- 
ish person and property. 

In the encroach of the British on Jamaica, of course the bucca- 
neers espoused the side of the English, and after that island's cap- 
ture by Cromwell's fleet, they established their headquarters at Port 
Royal and entered upon a flourishing career of freebooting and 
plunder. The British and even the French winked, if they did not 
connive at their marauding. In fact, the bold buccaneers sometimes 
carried letters of marque to give them license for their depredations. 

The first great leader of these vampire vikings of the Spanish 
Main was a Frenchman named Montbar, commonly called Pierre 
le Grand, or Peter the Great. This sanguinary sea-wolf once cap- 
tured the ship of a Spanish admiral while lying off Caicos in the 
Bahama Channel. Another French leader of the pillaging, plun- 
dering bands was Francois L'Olonnois, who had come out to the 
West Indies as a common sailor. This reckless rover of the seas 
captured a Spanish frigate which had been sent from Havana to 
put down the freebooters and which had on board a negro execu- 
tioner, who was to hang on the yardarm every man caught. L'Olon- 
nois took the Spanish crew of the frigate, ranged them in a con- 
venient row, and cut off the head of each man, licking his bloody 
sword clean with his own tongue, after each death-dealing blow. 

Probably the most famous leader of the gory gang of buccaneers 
was Captain Henry Morgan — we say famous, rather than infamous 
— for at length he cried peccavi and made amends for his pillaging 
past. Morgan was a Welshman by birth, who had to leave the old Gal- 




STREET SCENE. CRISTOBAL, COLON 




A SUBURB OF COLON 



THE BOUNDING BUCCANEERS 43 

lie mountains on account of youthful escapades. He was of a dar- 
ing, impetuous nature, and it suited him well, when he came to the 
islands, to throw in his lot with the daring daredevils scouring the 
seas for Spanish loot. He brought his plunder chiefly to Port Royal, 
which became a resort for desperate and vicious characters, and 
grew rich and wicked from the profits of freebooting. Morgan's 
greatest exploit was the burning of the city of Panama in 1671, but 
this feat heralded the departure of buccaneers from the waters of 
the Caribbean, for it excited such a hostility to the villainous sys- 
tem that the sanguinary sea-rovers had to betake themselves to 
other waters. England and Spain called a truce to their quarreling, 
and both combined to put down the power and prestige of the 
marauders in West Indian seas. Morgan saw the game was up. 
He squared himself with the authorities and settled down at Port 
Royal. He became twice Acting Governor of Jamaica and was 
knighted by Charles II. He died rich and honored, reversing the 
generally accepted principle of human conduct, that a youth of 
crime and folly is crowned by an age of shame and sorrow. He 
had sown tares, yet he reaped good wheat for his harvest. 

One of the last of the notorious buccaneer bandits was a ferocious 
Fleming, named Van Home. The most conspicuous deed of this 
daring desperado was an attack on Vera Cruz with six vessels and 
at the head of twelve hundred men. He took possession of the 
town, plundered the houses and demanded an enormous ransom 
from the inhabitants in recognition of his sparing the place from 
absolute destruction. While he was waiting for the ransom, a Span- 
.sh fleet of seventeen ships sailed into the harbor and Van Hortiv. 
nad to flee, but not without the booty he had already taken from the 
unfortunate people. 

The Peace of Ryswick in 1679 practically gave the finishing blow 
to buccaneering in the West Indies, for it was through this peace 
that hostilities were brought to an end between France and Spain. 
As has been intimated, England and Spain entered into friendly 
relations some years before this time. England and France, how- 
ever, were not on good terms, and buccaneers that hailed from both 
countries took sides each against the other, which fact, together with 
the general hostility shown toward their atrocious exploits, espe- 
cially the looting and burning of Havana, led to the breaking up 
of the notorious gangs on the Spanish Main. Moreover, Spanish 
trade by the end of the seventeenth century had well nigh gone from 
the AYest Indies, so there was nothing much for the murdering 
marauders to seize as prey. . ■ • 



44 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

But when buccaneering departed, piracy on everything worth 
seizing, no matter to whom it belonged, sailed to the front and for 
a long time kept these water? in a state of turmoil. 

The greatest, or rather the worst of the pirates, was an English- 
man named Teach, who was facetiously termed "Blackbeard," from 
the hue and size of his huge whiskers. This delectable desperado 
preyed as freely on English commerce as on that of any other 
nationality. All was fish that came to his net. There are many 
stories of his bravery, brutality, and butchery, but most of them 
must be taken cum grano salis. He did not confine himself alone 
to the Caribbean, but penetrated north as far as the coast of the 
Carolinas. At length the Governor of Virginia put a price upon 
his head and he was finally captured by an English lieutenant and 
promptly executed. 

Another enterprising character of this unsavory class was Cap- 
tain Bartholomew Roberts, who in the early part of the eighteenth 
century spread terror over the Caribbees. He even made seizures 
in the very ports of Martinique and Dominica. 

It may not be generally known that the notorious Captain Kidd 
began his career of privateering in the waters of the West Indies. 
It was Lord Bellamont, Governor of the Barbados, who secured 
Kidd's commission as Commander of the Adventure to put down 
pirates. As everybody knows, he turned pirate himself, but he 
afterward exercised his wild calling in another part of the world. 

All through the eighteenth century and for the first decade of the 
nineteenth century piracy continued its nefarious work in the Carib- 
bean, and had many lurking places and refuges throughout the 
islands. 

As we sailed over these sunny seas formerly traversed by these 
bounding buccaneers and predatory pirates, we could not help recall- 
ing their exciting and troubled times, and detailing to one another 
stories we had heard or read concerning them. Almost every one 
had something to relate from his portfolio of memories. We con- 
jured up pictures of them in their wild and fantastic costumes, 
bronzed and bearded daredevils, bristling with daggers and guns, 
carbines, and cutlasses, swaggering, shouting, swearing along the 
decks of their pointed sloops and square-nosed galleys as they 
skimmed the waves flying the black ensign of death at their miz- 
zenmasts or the red pennant of plunder from their gaff-peaks. In 
our minds' eye we could see the carnage of blood when they grap- 
pled with their prey, the fury of the onslaught, the dead and the 
dying as their bodies were hurled into the sea. What red demons 



THE BOUNDING BUCCANEERS 45 

of slaughter they must have been ! Their very memories strike 
terror to our souls, and at length, as if by common consent, we 
refrained from dwelling on that bloody past of rapine and licen- 
tiousness which gave such an unenviable notoriety in those days 
to this part of the world. We turned our thoughts to the living 
present and the beauties of sea and sky surrounding us, and beau- 
tiful they were, so much so, indeed, as to be lastingly impressive. 
The wind was light and balmy and the waves gave us but a gentle, 
swaying motion, yet gentle as it was, it kept some below in their 
state-rooms to whom it had already given mal-de-mer. Two days 
passed quickly away, making most of us accustomed to the undu- 
lating sway of the dark-green Caribbean. Life seems an endless 
morning and the vista an unlimited horizon. The colors of sea and 
sky blend in such a harmony of tints, reflections, and refractions 
as to give a picture-panorama of loveliness which enchains the eye, 
ravishes the soul, raises the thoughts in reverence and impels the 
tongue to utter praise and prayer to the Master Artist of the Uni- 
verse who limns the canvas of nature with such an indescribable 
glory. In these warm waters, unclouded sunshine and fragrant 
breezes of the South there is a tranquilizing influence which tends 
to mental repose and dreamy existence. The hours pass away in 
such a dolce far niente fashion that they slip unnoticed through the 
glass of time. The world and its cares and concerns, trials and 
troubles, sins and sorrows are forgotten, gliding through this para- 
dise of the Caribbean which seems like a foretaste of the paradise 
of the Eternal. 

We were satisfied to sit the greater part of the time on deck and 
gaze on the waves lazily rolling toward us from the perspective of 
the hazy distance, until they exhausted themselves in tiny sprays 
of foam against the sides of our vessel as she steadily ploughed 
onward on her course ; or to watch the wayward flapping of a few 
stray sea-gulls like white specks between us and the azure vault of 
heaven, and the antics of the flying-fish as they darted from the 
waves in pursuit of some morsel of prey. 

Finally, Porto Bello appeared on our lee, and in a couple of hours 
more our steamer was alongside the wharf at Aspinwall, or Colon, 
as it is now generally called. The town is situated on a detached 
piece of ground, the tiny island of Manzanillo. Here many of us 
looked forward with anticipations as being 

' Nearer to the wayside inns 

Where sea-sickness ceased and rest begins." 



46 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Landing amid the usual scenes consequent upon custom inspec- 
tion, with its attendant confusion, we took carriages for a drive 
about the place to view the sights and limber up a bit after our 
voyage, before starting on our railway journey to Panama. 

Colon is not such a forsaken place as many would have us sup- 
pose, nor is it so undesirable a spot as commonly reported. That 
it is hot goes without saying, but the heat has been so tempered by 
American enterprise and modern conveniences that it is no longer 
an insurmountable object to the comfort of persons from Northern 
latitudes. Since Americans have been in control they have paved 
the streets, made cement side-walks, put in sewers, graded the 
heights and hollows, raised the houses of the inhabitants, introduced 
mosquito-screens to protect the dwellers from the ubiquitous pests, 
and brought about many other improvements. These sanitary aids 
have done much to prevent disease and make the town normally 
healthy for both natives and foreigners. 

In most respects Colon is just like any other tropical seaport. 
From a casual view it has something of the appearance of a North- 
ern fishing village. A breeze wafts in from the Caribbean at all 
times as soft and sweet as a virgin's breath, but it is somewhat 
erratic, doubling at angles and turning corners, which makes it 
extremely hard to catch. When it does fan the cheek it is like the 
waft of an angel's wing, transporting one as it were from the heat 
and glare of the tropics to some heaven-blessed clime where roses 
eternal bloom, the scents of which regale the nostrils with a frag- 
rance worthy the incense of the gods. 

Colon is the port of supply for the Canal Zone. Every morning 
at four o'clock a train pulls out laden to the last car with food- 
stuffs for the Commissary Department at Panama. Aside from 
the imported commodities the town turns out quite a respectable 
amount of edibles on its own account. There is a pie-bakery with 
a daily output of more than a thousand of the appetizing little disks 
of mince, apple, pumpkin and other ingredients. A bread-bakery 
yields fifteen thousand loaves of bread daily from its ovens, while 
facilities would allow this daily supply to be increased to sixty 
thousand loaves. An ice-plant manufactures seventy-five thousand 
tons of the frozen product every twenty-four hours, the output 
being distributed clear across the Isthmus to the Pacific Slope. 
Vegetables are sent in season to hotels, messes, and kitchens at 
merely the cost of handling. Many other home products are dis- 
tributed from this little port of entrance. 















•A'-Cv".-' , *• ' [' ■• -"• 






J/t&f-iMkw, 


•'itfStel^. 








h^^TiH 






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^^^^^pB^p^hj 






COLUMBUS STATUE 


AND DE LESSEPS COTTAGE, 


COLON 




HOMES OF NEGRO LABORERS, CANAL ZONE 



THE BOUNDING BUCCANEERS 49 

There are not many remarkable sights in Colon. The dwellings 
are principally little frame cottages of neat appearance and very 
well kept since the advent of the Americans. The coral drive sur- 
rounding the bay is very pleasant during the daytime, but at even- 
ing, when the mosquitoes come forth in swarms from the marshes, 
travelers are glad to seek protection from Culex Anopheles behind 
the screens of the wooden verandas. 

An object that attracted our attention was the colossal bronze 
statue of Columbus, a gift from the late Emperor of the French. 
(Colon itself in name is the Spanish equivalent for Columbus.) 
The great navigator is represented as protecting with his right hand 
the kneeling figure of an Indian maiden, whose features apparently 
seem moved by the kind act. To the rear of the Columbus statue 
is the De Lesseps house, where the famous French engineer lived 
for a time when he essayed (to him) the insurmountable task of 
cutting the isthmus. 

Apart from these landmarks Colon is not a Mecca for the sight- 
seer, nor is it interesting in historical associations ; therefore, when 
the time came, we were glad to take the train across the isthmus to 
Panama, in eager anticipation of seeing for ourselves the great 
work on which Uncle Sam has been engaged, the work in which all 
the world is interested, viz., the excavation for the Panama Canal, 
or what is popularly known as "the Digging of the Big Ditch." 



CHAPTER III 



DIGGING THE BIG DITCH 



THE MOST COLOSSAL ENTERPRISE OF MODERN TIMES 



As we sped away from Colon, through the car-window we caught 
glimpses of the muddy Chagres River sluggishly wending its way 
through dank vegetation, its banks thickly matted in many places 
with dead aquatic plants, through which new growths were spring- 
ing up. Ranges of hills which reach to within six miles of the 
shore at Gatun encompass the valley of this river. 

As we ascended higher into these hills giant forest trees appeared 
on each side of the track, all clambered with pendant blossomy 
vines and gorgeous with flowers of varied and brilliant hues. Many 
abandoned locomotives and old steam-shovels, lying here and there 
in the dense growth of underscrub, recalled to our mind the history 
of the great undertaking which at last has been successfully accom- 
plished. A sad history indeed it is in some places, punctuated by 
the sacrifice of many human lives. 

The cutting of a passage through the isthmus connecting the two 
Americas has not been an idea solely conceived in our time or within 
the past century. The problem has engaged the attention of navi- 
gators, scientists and men of thought for upward of four hundred 
years. Hernando Cortez first discussed the idea, and his successor, 
Ceron, actually made plans for cutting a waterway through from 
ocean to ocean. When Columbus set out over the waste of waters 
he was seeking a new route to the Eastern countries of the Old 
World, but the continent which he discovered intervened, or he 
would have realized his object. 

When it was learned through exact geographical knowledge that 
only a narrow neck of land separated the two great oceans and was 

50 



DIGGING THE BIG DITCH 51 

the sole barrier which prevented navigators from gaining the East 
by sailing far enough to the West, thoughtful minds began to con- 
sider the question, whether this barrier could not be removed. 

From the advent of Europeans as settlers on the American con- 
tinent this same question has been a matter for consideration and 
deliberation. Time and again the importance to the commerce of 
the nation of a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific at this 
central point has been accentuated and emphasized by the demands 
of modern growth and development. 

During the exodus of '49 to the gold-fields of California the Canal 
question was very prominently brought to the front. It was six 
years later that, in order to facilitate travel in some degree, the 
Panama Railroad was constructed. Previous to this the journey 
from New York to San Francisco by way of the Horn was 13,200 
miles, or more than half the circumference of the globe. The Panama 
Railroad lessened this by some 7,500 miles, making the total 
journey between the two cities in this direction about 5,700 miles. 
Ten years later the first railroad through the United States from 
coast to coast was opened. The company's franchise included the 
right to construct a canal, but nothing was done. The need of a 
water-way for commerce was still felt and still engrossed practical 
minds. 

It was not, however, until 1879 that the Canal project took its 
first practical form. In that year the French Company obtained a 
concession from the Colombian Government and, having secured 
De Lesseps, who had gained fame in constructing the Suez Canal, 
they went to work to construct a sea-level canal across the isthmus. 

For ten years the French toiled at the enormous undertaking, 
which cost them millions of money and hundreds of lives. Science 
had not advanced as far then as now, the hygienic laws adapted to 
the climate or preventives of disease were not understood, and 
so the men died by hundreds. "Yellow Jack," enteric fevers, dysen- 
tery, cholera and kindred maladies carried them off in their deadly 
embraces. The region actually became the pest-hole, the lazar-spot 
of the world. To breathe its air was to inhale the deadliest of poi- 
sons. The miasma arising from the swamps and marshes was 
charged with toxic bacteria, all kinds of disease-breeding germs and 
bacilli, and the mosquitoes and ants, which could not be kept off, 
spread contagion everywhere around. The French fell the easiest 
victims, thev were soft and unaccustomed to work under such con- 



52 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

ditions; the West Indian negroes were little better, even the Chi- 
nese coolies succumbed in great numbers. 

Ten years were enough for the French. The company collapsed ; 
they would have had to stop anyhow, for no more men would go 
to that pestiferous region of disease and death. De Lesseps went 
home. Instead of adding new laurels to his crown, the old ones 
faded and he soon passed away, the world scarcely noticing his 
departure. All work was stopped and silence brooded where the 
locomotive had tooted and the steam-shovel clanged. The world 
seemed to forget Panama, and looked upon the work already done 
as France's Folly, and many prophesied that it never would be 
resumed again. The prophecy was correct as far as France was 
concerned, but in 1904 Uncle Sam got on the job. Panama had 
won her independence from Colombia, so the United States thought 
the time opportune to try what could be done with the "Big Ditch." 
The Government purchased all rights from the French Company 
for $40,000,000, paid Panama another $10,000,000, and leased in 
perpetuity, at a rental of $250,000 a year, a strip of land ten miles 
wide and forty-five miles long, running across the Isthmus from 
sea to sea. This strip of land is what is now known as the Canal 
Zone. 

The object of the American canal builders was to complete the 
»vork the French began and construct a waterway by which the 
xargest steamer afloat could be lifted up a flight of three "steps" on 
the Atlantic side, carried on a water-way between the mountains at 
an altitude of eighty-five feet above the sea, and let down a flight of 
three "steps" into the Pacific in ten hours' time. It seemed a big 
contract, the biggest ever undertaken by man, the Pyramids nor any 
of the mighty works of the ancient world not excepted. 

Certainly the American people deserve credit for having tackled 
such a stupendous task. Their doing so emphasizes the mighty 
spirit of Progress which animates the go-ahead Republic of the 
West. 

In this titanic work the United States has had not only to sur 
mount obstacles and conquer difficulties which would have been 
impossible to any other nation, but has had to live down the evil 
reputation of the past which caused men to shun this locality as a 
plague-spot, the very air of which was contamination and death. 

As we have said, it cost the French, besides money, hundreds of 
the lives of their own people, while the poor negroes literally died 
by thousands. Even the railway over which we now travel from 




CULEBRA CUT, PANAMA (1908) 




DRILLING AT CULEBRA CUT (1908) 



53 



DIGGING THE BIG DITCH 55 

Colon to the city of Panama cost the life of a Chinaman, it is said, 
for every tie driven. 

What a change has been effected since then ! With the occupa- 
tion of the Americans, Hygeis waved her magic wand and lo ! 
the grim spectres of disease were exorcised, the Black Knight of 
Death was unhorsed and conquered by the Sir Lancelot of Modern 
Science, and to-day the Canal Zone is almost as healthy as any of 
the most favored parts of the American Continent. There is much 
more discomfort during the hot spells in New York, Chicago, or 
any other of the large cities than there is in the "Strip." The sani- 
tation is as perfect as possible. Money has been lavishly expended, 
with a view to procuring comfort and health. Instead of the huts, 
shacks, and bungalows one might naturally expect to see in a trop- 
ical belt, the visitor sees modern, neatly kept cottages, much simi- 
lar to those found all over the States. These little houses, for the 
most part, were perched, where possible, on the hills along the canal 
route. Those in the lowlands crouched on high, wooden stilts, and 
thus they defied any malarial vapors exuding from the soil. The 
broad verandas were protected with screens from floor to roof. 
These kept off the mosquitoes and all other tropical insects, enabling 
the inhabitants to enjoy the cool of the evening in unmolested con- 
tentment. 

There are dozens of schoolhouses scattered over the territory 
from the flagstaffs of which flutter the Stars and Stripes, and in 
which American teachers train the "young idea how to shoot." 

There are stores, hotels, restaurants, clubs, playgrounds, in fact 
all the appurtenances and conveniences of any modern common- 
wealth. Uncle Sam allows no saloons in his strip of territory, but 
there are plenty of these wet-goods emporiums across the border, 
where the thirsty traveler can refresh himself with as varied an 
assortment of beverages as he would find in any "wide-open" town 
of America. He can ask for Jamieson's "Seven Year Old," and a 
bottle bearing the brand is immediately produced, but there is no 
guarantee that the contents came from the Emerald Isle. It is more 
likely to be a sample of "Kentucky Moonshine," "Jersey Lightning," 
or some native distillation equally as vile. But, as Shakespeare 
says, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, so whiskey by 
any name is a toxic compound, and all blends are alike in their final 
destroying effects. 

As there were some forty thousand human beings in the Canal 
Zone to be supplied with the life-maintaining necessaries, the Com- 



56 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

missariat Department was the most important consideration. 
Through this department Uncle Sam was the keeper of one of the 
largest storehouses in the world, one which did an annual business 
of over $6,000,000. There were thirteen commissary stores scat- 
tered along the canal route, where the canal employee could pro- 
cure almost anything from a needle to an anchor. Purchases could 
be made by employees only. Tobacco sales alone amounted to 
about $25,000 a month, and during a similar time more than $50,- 
000 worth of clothing was bought at these stores. The meat con- 
tract was enormous. The monthly consumption of beef, mutton, 
and veal averaged 350,000 pounds the year round. The total sup- 
ply came from the packing-houses in Chicago and was shipped from 
New York in cold storage. The daily consumption of butter approx- 
imated 800 pounds, of eggs 1,230 dozens, of potatoes 17 barrels, and 
of milk 500 gallons. In general the Commissary Department main- 
tained an equipment and a force capable of serving about 220,000 
meals and rations monthly. 

Besides the stores there were some sixty messes and kitchens 
conducted at various points along the work. The Spanish laborers, 
of whom there were about 6,000, patronized these. They got three 
meals a day for 40 cents, and the Government gave them free lodg- 
ings. As their wage amounted to $1.60 daily, they had $1.20 left, 
but out of this they had to provide clothing. 

There were about 30,000 West Indian negro privates in the army 
of construction. Most of them displayed a tendency to shun the 
Government quarters and kitchens, preferring the native villages, or 
setting up shacks for themselves, but the authorities discountenanced 
this tendency, on sanitary and hygienic principles. 

The Americans were the principal meat-eaters of the Canal Zone, 
and on this account, it was pointed out, the strain on their digestive 
organs made them less ht to resist climatic influences than the 
negroes and Spaniards, who depended on the carbohydrates, like 
the starches and sugars, which are easy of assimilation and diges- 
tion. 

In connection with the actual work of Canal construction the 
problem of human efficiency merged itself in that of machine effi- 
ciency, and the influence of the latter factor in the question of labor 
saving. In making the dirt fly in the big ditch there were some one 
hundred and ten steam-shovels swinging their buckets in the Canal 
belt all the time, many of them capable of loading about one hundred 
and fifty cars a day. These shovels were of two kinds, viz., seventy- 



DIGGING THE BIG DITCH 57 

ton shovels and ninety-five-ton shovels, the latter carrying buckets 
with a capacity of five cubic yards. Many of these enormous shovels 
tore from the earth, scooped up and loaded on cars as much as 
2,175 cubic yards of rock and dirt in a single day of eight hours. In 
the Culebra Cut, each shovel on an average excavated 744 cubic 
yards of rock a day. The best workman could have handled and 
loaded only six cubic yards in eight hours, therefore one shovel per- 
formed the w T ork of 124 men. 

In the blasting of rock a similar labor-saving process was exem- 
plified. Thousands of pounds of dynamite were daily used. In 
many places a hundred compressed air drills could be seen in line 
chugging away like giant pistons, boring the blasting holes to receive 
the charges that split the rock into fragments. 

Scores of locomotives were kept busy hauling the trains of cars 
of dirt over the network of tracks to the dumping-grounds around 
the edges of the reservoirs. 

We made a special trip to Empire to see the giant shovels at 
work. Empire is about twelve miles from Panama City. We 
watched them with wondering curiosity until we became tired. The 
clanging of the shovels and chugging of the drills were too noisy 
for our unfamiliar ears. Before we left they were about to set off 
a blast, so we had quickly to retreat to a safe distance, nevertheless 
many fragments of rock fell thickly around us. 

From Empire we walked back three miles to Culebra to have a 
look at the famous Culebra Cut, the barrier which daunted nations 
in the past, but which is conquered at last. The problem of digging 
the ditch through this cut was one of mere physical force, which 
was after a while solved, and the digging took out an average 
of a million cubic yards of dirt and rock a month. The cutting of 
Culebra may be regarded as the final triumph of intelligent and 
perserving energy over the resistance of material obstacles. 

The dams and locks constituted the most formidable work in the 
final construction of the Canal. By damming up the Chagres River 
at Gatun a lake was formed, the surface of which is eighty-five feet 
above sea-level, and which has an area of about one hundred and 
ten square miles. By damming the Rio Grande the same object was 
attained on the Pacific side. In connection with each dam is a sys- 
tem of locks connecting the Canal with the two mouths or channels 
at sea-level. 

The great difficulty about building these dams was in the founda- 
tions. On the Pacific side, where there are two dams, one at Mira- 



58 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

flores and the other higher up among the hills at Pedro Miguel, trou- 
ble frequently arose. The original site at La Boca was abandoned 
for that at Miraflores. The gaps between the hills at Miraflores and 
Pedro Miguel are not very wide, so these dams were comparatively 
small, and consequently easy to build. 

But on the Atlantic side the conditions were different. Here lay 
the crux of the whole lock canal project. If Gatun Dam should 
have failed, the plan for a lock canal would have failed also, and 
the great ditch would have had to be dug to a depth of forty-one 
feet below sea-level from ocean to ocean. Gatun Dam lies across 
the valley of the Chagres River, its ends supported by two hills. 
Its foundations lie on the dirt formation of the river valley, for 
there is rock within 250 feet of the surface. 

This dam is by far the largest of its kind in the world, the next 
largest being San Leandro in California, and even that is only one- 
third the length and breadth of the great pile that harnesses up the 
Chagres River. It is a mile and a half long, half a mile wide, and 
one hundred and thirty-five feet from base to top. This height gives 
it a rise of fifty feet above the highest water-level required for canal 
purposes. In its building hundreds of thousands of piles were 
driven into the ground to support the vast foundations, and mil- 
lions of barrels of cement and millions of tons of rock were used, 
not to mention the earth that was required. The cement and piles 
had to be shipped to the Isthmus, while the rock and most of the 
dirt was hauled some twenty-five miles from the Culebra Cut. So 
during the construction of the Canal a large part of the material 
taken from Culebra had to be handled over and over again until it 
was packed solidly in the great structure at Gatun. After this was 
done then came the finishing touches — the cementing of the bottom 
and walls of certain parts of the Canal, the equipment of the locks 
with machinery for operating the massive gates, and then the first 
filling of the reservoirs. 

Both Ex-Presidents Roosevelt and Taft predicted that the great 
work would be finished in 1915; many thought them over-sanguine, 
but results have more than justified their predictions. The year 1914 
witnessed the practical completion of the great work.* The Atlantic 
and Pacific have been wedded, the dream of ages is accomplished, 
and the commerce of the world soon will be revolutionized. Doubt- 

*The first freight passed through the Canal in May, 1911. a shipment of 
three barge loads of sugar from Hawaii consigned to New York. 




A GANG OF DRILLERS ON THE ISTHMUS 




CHINESE VENDER ON THE ISTHMUS 



59 



DIGGING THE BIG DITCH 61 

less, however, it will take a year or two to put everything in complete 
working order, and it will probably be 1917 before a full traffic is 
established. Steamers will then be able to reach San Francisco from 
New York in from eight to ten days, saving 7,875 miles. Sailing 
vessels taking from four to five months to make the same voyage 
around the Horn will be able to do it in six or seven weeks. Pro- 
portionate saving will be made between all Atlantic and Pacific 
ports. The Canal will open a bee-line route between Liverpool and 
Sydney, Australia, making the distance 12,590 miles, instead of 
15,160. 

So, while incalculable benefits will accrue to the United States 
from a commercial as well as many other points of view, the other 
nations of the world will be benefited as well. 

Besides, the glory of carrying out the undertaking will add a 
lustre to the prestige of this country and establish the United States 
on an eminence to which all the world will look up with respect and 
admiration. In fact, the cutting of the Panama Canal will be the 
victory of the ages, and will crown the brows of America with the 
unfading laurels of fame for all time, for its skill, courage, and 
humanity. 

To see the great work in progress was well worth a visit to the 
Canal Zone. The American tourist should list Panama in his iti- 
nerary, if from nothing else than a patriotic motive. It makes 
Americans feel proud of their country, which has the spirit, the will, 
the determination and the genius to carry such a colossal enterprise 
to a successful issue. 

During our stay on the Isthmus we put up at the Hotel Tivoli at 
Ancon, just on the edge of Panama City, and where are situated the 
General Offices of the Canal Commission. This hotel was certainly 
a contrast, and not an agreeable one, to the pleasant, well-kept, well- 
ordered Titchfield at San Antonio, Jamaica, with its delightful views, 
fine cuisine, and reasonable prices. The Tivoli is a hostelry where 
the visitor, to enjoy the dance, must certainly pay the piper. The 
prices are outrageously out of all commensuration with the treat- 
ment and attendance. Charges range from $8.00 a day upward. 
When the tourist is first told the price he is liable to console himself 
with the thought that silver dollars are meant, eight of which, in 
accordance with the Panamanian par of exchange, amount to a 
sum equivalent to four dollars in the United States, but when the 
reckoning comes he is sadly disillusioned to find that the rate is in 
keeping with the currency in the home land of Uncle Sam. 



62 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

While in the city of Panama we visited most of the interesting 
places. Although called by courtesy a city, as being the capital of 
the little republic, it is but a small place, having a population of 
about 30,000. The streets are narrow and smuous, the houses 
mostly of wood with red-tiled roofs ; the second stories — few exceed 
two stories — project over the sidewalks. These houses very for- 
cibly reminded me of many similar ones I had seen in the quaint 
old towns of Andalusian Spain. There are no pretentious build- 
ings. The cathedral is of brick and whitewashed, the interior deco- 
rations very plain and simple. Most of the church bells are cracked, 
and instead of being rung with clappers are struck with hammers, 
the noise thus made being very discordant and trying on the tym- 
panum of the ear. 

We saw many children playing on the streets, their dress con- 
spicuous by its absence, their little bodies being almost nude under 
the fierce glare of the tropical sun. Still, they gave a variety to the 
surroundings and added something of a charm to the general pic- 
ture. Water-carriers passed along somewhat after the manner of 
Eastern lands. Venders dozed over their wares of fruits and 
dulces — the latter being the Spanish name for sweetmeats. Boat- 
men and idlers lazily lounged past us in all the careless abandon and 
lethargy of the tropics. 

In many places we came upon tangible evidence of poverty and 
squalor, as much so in proportion as in the slums of any of our 
Northern cities. The air was redolent with garlic, for many of the 
poor here are necessitated to make a meal of the pungent leek for 
lack of anything more substantial or nutritive. 

It rained while we were in the city of Panama, and when it does 
rain there it rains heavily. The surcharged heavens seemed to let 
down their contents in veritable water-spouts and cataracts. When 
the rain-storm was over the sun came out from the great black 
drift, and under his fierce, almost perpendicular rays, the streets 
exuded white clouds of mist like that which issues from a vapor- 
bath. In the mornings there is generally a heavy dew, so heavy 
that one might imagine it had rained during the night. 

Throughout our visit to Panama we experienced many abrupt 
transitions from the pleasant to the unpleasant, from the agreeable 
to the disagreeable. In the Canal Zone we saw the employees well- 
fed, well-housed, well-clothed, not overworked, and most of them 
contented with their lot. On the other hand, in the city of Panama 
itself we were confronted with many cases of real poverty, filthy 



DIGGING THE BIG DITCH 63 

homes, unsanitary conditions, ragged men and women, discontented 
and unhappy. 

There are many contrasts in Panama, not only in the manner 
of living and general social condition of the people, but in many 
other respects. The traveler often finds himself passing from the 
sublime to the ridiculous and vice versa. I, myself experienced 
such situations during my sojourn. Anyhow, there is only a paper 
wall between these conditions and I am not ashamed to say I 
toppled through it several times. But I always managed to get 
back again, if not to the height of the sublime, at least to the 
level of common sense. 

On the whole I was well pleased with my visit, not only from 
the sight-seer's standpoint, but in the experience gained and more- 
over by the pleasure it afforded me to see my own countrymen by 
their indomitable energy and unrivaled genius carrying to a success- 
ful finish the great work which defied all others to consummate. 

To picturesque Panama let me say, Hasta la vista. 



CHAPTER IV 



PANAMA TO LIMA 

THE WESTERN COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA 
FROM THE ISTHMUS TO PERU. 

We left Panama on the Huasco of the Compahia Sud-Americana 
de Vapores, which, in plain English, means the South American 
Steamship Company. 

We had every expectation of a pleasant voyage, dreamy, placid, 
nerve-soothing, for this tropical water-way along the Western Coast 
of South America seldom, if ever, is disturbed by storms, or in 
fact ruffled by maritime commotions of any kind. There is never 
a heavy sea, never a rolling swell encountered. And the boats are 
specially constructed to meet such calm conditions. They are in 
nowise built for speed, therefore they make no attempt on any 
occasion in the way of a spurt or dash to reduce their mileage time. 
On no run do they make more than 100 miles a day, often less. The 
entire voyage from Panama to Valparaiso, a distance of some 3,100 
miles, consumes from twenty-three to twenty-five days. Any North 
Atlantic ship could easily accomplish the journey in eight days or 
less. Of course these South American vessels make many calls on 
the way, but leaving this out of consideration, they are about the 
slowest steamships in the world. They glide along at a regular ocean 
snail pace, like apathetic acquatic living things, and seem to say, — 
"If we don't reach port to-day maybe we will get there to-morrow 
or the day after." 

These quaint Pacific arks are almost as large as our regular 
Northern steamships. They have extraordinary deck-space, and all 
the cabins lead out on the decks. These cabins or state-rooms have 
large doors and windows so as to catch whatever breeze is blowing, 
for at times in the early part of the voyage the weather is close 

64 



ALONG THE WESTERN COAST 67 

and stifling, especially at night, and passengers are very grateful for 
even the faintest breath of air. 

Freight is of the first importance on these boats. The decks are 
constantly choked and cluttered with all kinds and descriptions of 
merchandise, from bales of Manchester-manufactured cotton to 
boxes of Chinese-spun silk, and from chewing-tobacco to fresh 
lettuce. There is also animate as well as inanimate freight. The 
beefsteak you will eat to-morrow is standing on the hoof to-day, 
looking up at you with great docile eyes from the hatchway below 
and giving an occasional bellow, as if dreading the fate the future 
holds in store. In big double-decker coops, fat chickens blink 
suspiciously through the slats, as if knowing they soon will be 
served up as polio con arroz* to coax the sluggish appetites of the 
idle passengers whose digestive organs suffer from lack of action 
and exercise. Ducks and other barnyard fowl are also cooped up 
by the dozen awaiting the spit and the broiler. The squawking, 
clucking and cackling on occasions are very annoying, particularly 
in the early mornings, but the greatest and worst disadvantage of 
carrying such living freight comes from the odor and effluvium 
arising from the coops and cattle-pens, and which is often so strong 
and disagreeable as to be nauseating. 

The stewards and attendants are chiefly Chilean rotos, swarthy s 
hang-dog looking fellows, something after the pattern of Sicilian 
brigands; they look as if they would be delighted to stick a stiletto 
between one's ribs for a few pesos or even a bottle of pisco. Their 
very appearance instils terror into the peacefully inclined ; they 
certainly look as if their absence would be preferable to their 
company on a dark night in a lonely place, if a person had anything 
valuable in his possession to incite their cupidity. In the very 
light of day they look fierce enough to send shivers down the spine 
of the timid. 

There are always a goodly number of passengers, and these 
constitute a heterogeneous crowd indeed, being made up of divers 
nationalities. Englishmen and Americans predominate, mostly 
engineers and prospectors going down to the mines of Bolivia and 
Peru; commercial travelers and business men representing the 
great mercantile, manufacturing, and producing houses of the 
United States and Europe ; globe-trotters and cosmopolitans who 
are at home in all places in all lands ; some scientists and naturalists 

*Anglice = chicken with rice. 



68 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

athirst for investigation and a few Asiatics, earth-wanderers in 
quest of the golden ignis-fatuus which leads them ever on from 
the extremest Orient to the farthest Occident. 

We had a young college man on board who hailed from Cali- 
fornia. He was on his way to a mine in Central Peru. He had 
entered into a contract with the company in charge of the work, and 
he told us he would extend it, if the engagement should prove 
agreeable to him. 

With such a varied company there was much material to attract 
the attention of a student of social conditions, but most were other- 
wise inclined than to a study of their fellow-travelers and the objects 
they had in view in undertaking the voyage. The scenery of the 
surrounding country claimed the attention of almost all. 

As we sailed out from La Boca, the harbor of Panama was very 
beautiful, as it lay before us shimmering in burnished glory in the 
sunlight. I could not help calling up memories of the unfortunate 
wanderer "Balboa," the first white man to look upon this shining sea. 
It was in September, 1513, that Vasco Nunez, commonly called 
Balboa from his birthplace in Spain, sighted the waters of the 
Pacific from the lookout of a mountain peak in the isthmus of 
Darien. Nunez was an adventurer, a bold and fearless one all his 
life. As a young man he had come out from Spain in 1501 to the 
fertile island of Hispaniola, but he was not a person to settle down 
to the tame life of a planter and agriculturist. He was born for 
action, and his spirit craved adventure and excitement. Having 
got into debt he made his escape from Hispaniola and reached 
Darien, where he became chief of a band of like adventurers and 
made friends with the Indians, marrying the daughter of Caretta, 
chief of the Coyba district. He had been told of the great sea 
that lay on the other side of the isthmus, and visions of wealth rose 
before him, for he believed this sea would lead him to the rich 
East Indies which Columbus had set out to reach by a Western 
route. 

When at length Balboa gazed upon the shining water from the 
mountain top he knelt down and thanked Heaven for the glorious 
vision. After a march of a few days he reached the shore and took 
possession of both sea and land in the name of the King of Spain. 

But poor Balboa was not to enjoy any results from his discovery. 
There were enemies pulling the wires against him at the Spanish 
Court. A cruel and heartless wretch called Davilla was sent out 
as Governor. This man hated Balboa with a hatred begotten of 




PREPARING TO LOAD STEER ON THE "HUASCO' 




A FEW MINUTES LATER 



ALONG THE WESTERN COAST 71 

jealousy and envy. The latter was preparing to explore the ocean 
he had discovered. At enormous labor his men had taken to pieces 
the ships in the harbor of Darien, carried those pieces sixty miles 
across the isthmus to the Pacific, and reconstructed them into four 
brigantines. Instead of searching for the East Indies first, Balboa 
made up his mind to seek the golden land of Pefu, for he had 
already heard of the immense wealth and gorgeous treasures of the 
Incas. He set out on this quest and had reached the Pearl Islands 
when lack of pitch and other necessities rendered his vessels un- 
seaworthy and prevented his going farther South. 

In the meantime Davilla's jealousy and envy increased. If fame 
and riches were to be had the small-minded governor wanted the 
glory and wealth for himself. He caused trumped-up charges of 
treason to be made against Balboa, had him arrested, put on trial, 
and speedily condemned to death. 

In Balboa perished the ablest of the Spanish adventurers. But 
for Davilla's treachery and jealousy, the bold pioneer would doubt- 
less have added to his fame the conquest of Peru, forestalling the 
scoundrelly Pizarro. And had fate permitted Balboa to be the con- 
queror of the land of the Incas, the most shameful chapter that 
disgraces Spanish history would never have been written in her 
annals. 

As we glided down the bay, the Pearl Islands, where Balboa, 
with his brigantines, was compelled to halt, appeared hazy in the 
distance. We could just catch a glimpse of their outlines, but such 
was enough to emphasize what we had heard and read of the 
daring adventurer who was the first white man to churn the slum- 
bering waters of the great ocean. 

These islands have another claim to notoriety, if not to fame. 
It was in their lee that the bold buccaneers lay in 1685 under the 
command of Edward Davis, awaiting the Spanish treasure-fleet 
from Lima. They waited in vain, for the Spaniards succeeded in 
landing the treasure betimes. Had there been a battle and the 
buccaneers had won, as they probably would in such an event, the 
whole course of South American history might have been very 
different from what it is. 

Looking back over the waters we have just skimmed, the strip 
of land connecting the two Americas, rising in jagged hills here and 
there, looks like the backbone of some huge leviathan of the pre- 
historic past, wrapped in a winding-sheet of gray, its either end 
disappearing in the mists af Colombia and Costa Rica. As we 



72 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

proceed and it recedes, or rather seems to recede, the hills appear 
smaller and smaller until they dwindle into little cones resembling 
bee-skeps on a lawn and finally disappear in a cirque of clouds, the 
upper part of which is crested with sunshine while the lower seems 
like fleecy strands of pink dripping into waters of indigo blue. 

At sunset, when the West is a blaze of mingled light and color, 
the indigo merges into a deep maroon, which quickly fades to give 
place to the reflection of the dark blue vault overhead, in which 
strange stars come out, one by one, and stud the infinite fields of 
space. The north polar star is just a little above the horizon; soon 
it will disappear, followed by Ursa Major, Orion, the Pleiades 
and others of the familiar Northern constellations. Other groups 
will come into view and, coming up from the rim of waters we 
shall see the famous Southern Cross which will ascend higher and 
higher in the heavenly arch the farther we proceed south. This 
constellation of the Southern heavens, called by astronomers the 
Crux, consists of a group of stars, four of which are visible to the 
naked eye ; two of the first magnitude, one of the second, and one 
of the third. These do not form an exact cross, but the outlines 
of a cross can be imagined from their positions, just as the form of 
a bear can be traced in the "Plough" or Ursa Major. The Southern 
Cross is in the zenith over Australia, and for this reason the island 
continent is called "The Land of the Southern Cross." 

As we meandered down past the coast of Colombia the weather 
was very trying. Our modern galleon crawled along under a heat 
shimmer which sent the mercury up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit in 
my cabin. I had commenced taking notes of my impressions, but 
had to stop writing to wipe the perspiration off my hands and 
stand in the draught of the doorway to catch a little breeze. For 
two days we experienced this kind of weather, the nights being 
especially disagreeable owing to the stuffy heat of the cabins. In 
the daytime we selected those spots on deck most sheltered from 
the sun's rays from which we watched either the outline of the 
shore on the one hand or the wavelets lapping the starboard side 
of our vessel on the other, as they lazily rolled in from the almost 
illimitable expanse of ocean. 

But for the motion of the ship there would have been no wavelets 
at all, for the sea here is like a mill pond. It was this part of the 
great ocean which confirmed the name, Pacific, the one Ferdinand 
Magellan first applied to it when he sailed through the strait now 




X3 



ALONG THE WESTERN COAST 75 

bearing his name and found the water so calm in contrast to the 
Atlantic storms through which he had passed. 

On the third day we crossed the Equator, or as it is popularly 
called, the Line, and passed imperceptibly into south latitude. 
There was no ceremony of receiving old Father Neptune as is 
customary on such occasions. Indeed most of us were too passive, 
too inert to exertion, in short too lazy in our day-dreaming to arouse 
ourselves to meet his Marine Majesty; therefore, no one personated 
the mythical god with his trident and there was no commotion. 

From this time onward the weather was pleasant and agreeable, 
due to the cool Humboldt current which rolls up along the western 
coast from Cape Horn. The change in the temperature was very 
refreshing and was enjoyed by all. 

When the soft breath of evening would waft into our earner ote 
and the Southern Cross come out in the darkling sky, when the 
pulsating throbs of the engine would send a gentle tremor through 
the stanchions of the ship and the bell would sound its bi-hourly 
announcements, while the musical cadence of a few soft Spanish 
voices could be heard from the upper deck, it seemed as if a ro- 
mantic glamor was cast over the surroundings, favoring the idea of 
enchantment. 

There was neither poetry nor romance, glamor nor enchantment 
in our daylight view of the coast of Ecuador. The shoreline was 
a disillusion to those of us who may have entertained any fancies 
or imaginings of beauty. It is a low, dull, lumpy land, and the sky 
over it is generally gray and overcast. Higher up there is a dense 
vegetation. 

We were four days from Panama when we ran up the Guayas 
River and anchored off the city of Guayaquil which serves as the 
port of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. The Guayas River is the 
largest that drains the western slope of the Andes. It has a huge 
mouth and the main river is from one to two miles wide. Along 
the banks are villages of thatched bamboo cottages looking as if 
they were set up on stilts. All sorts of tropical vegetation grow 
down to the water's edge. Looking up the river the vista is one of 
conical and pinnacled hills of living green, sparkling in verdure 
like the glistening of leaves after a rainstorm. Plantations of cacao 
and sugar-cane can be seen, as well as groves of cocoa-nut palms 
and bananas. Beyond are the foothills of the Andes, the grazing 
land on which pasture large herds of sheep and goats. Above these 
rise the peaks of the Cordilleras, but only the summit of the majestic 



It UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

volcano, Chimborazo (snow mountain) can be seen from this point 
on a clear day, though it is claimed that Cotopaxi can also be seen 
on occasions. 

The water of the Guayas is very muddy, reminding one strongly 
of pea-soup, and it always contains much debris which comes down 
from the upper woodlands. Among the dense vine-clad forestry 
along the banks, we noticed here and there beautiful specimens 
of the feathery algaroba and many fine ebony trees from which 
comes the hardest and most durable of timber. From time to time 
beautiful blue water-hyacinths, set in their deep green leaves, 
floated past, giving a dash of local coloring to the swiftly flowing 
muddy stream. 

The city of Guayaquil is forty miles inland, but the Pacific 
steamers are able to make the entire distance. They load and un- 
load in front of the city by means of lighters. We were not allowed 
to land, as yellow fever and bubonic plague were prevalent during 
the time of our visit. As soon as we arrived off the city the ship 
was surrounded by tenders and lighters to take off and put on 
merchandise. Other kinds of craft were aplenty and many visitors 
came on board. As at all the ports along the way, quite a number 
came out for purposes of trade and barter. There were venders 
of limes, oranges, and other fruits, peddlers loaded down with great 
bundles of native gew-gaws and knick-knacks, clay drinking vessels, 
curiously shaped pottery and various kinds of wicker or willow 
ware. Women were going about selling, or trying to sell, candy 
made of raw cane-sugar wrapped in banana leaves and flat cakes 
of unleavened pie-crusty bread which looked as if it would give 
dyspepsia to an ostrich. Below, stokers were haggling over fruits, 
dulces, and black cigarros, and doubtless some surreptitious flasks 
of pisco changed hands in the bargaining. Pisco is a white brandy 
much affected along the coast, and is so called from the place of 
that name. 

As Guayaquil is the great depot and distributing center for 
Panama hats, of course many venders of the costly headgear came 
aboard. The Panama is passing, its great day is over, the day when 
wealthy planters and business men were willing to give $100 and 
more for one of the finest make. Still many thousands of inferior 
grades are yet sold annually in this section. They are not made 
at Guayaquil, but at a little group of villages some fifty miles inland 
from the coast. The grass of which they are composed is called 
peita and is found chiefly in the neighboring province of San 



ALONG THE WESTERN COAST 79 

Cristobal. The best are braided during the night or early morning 
as the heat of the day renders the grass brittle and it breaks in the 
braiding. It takes a native about two months to fashion a hat ot 
good quality. We were told of a hat on which eighteen months 
were spent and which was valued at $400. Such are no longer 
made. There is no demand for them. Most of the Panamas of 
commerce are but mere imitations of the genuine article. Nearly 
all the hats the venders brought on board the Huasco ranged in 
price from $5 to $15. A few went beyond the latter figure and we 
could easily recognize their value as they were of very fine braid, 
so closely woven as to resemble linen. 

If a large price were demanded the would-be purchaser seemed 
to intuitively feel the figure was exorbitant and that the vender 
was trying to get the better of him, so the amount was sure to be 
resented and a much lower sum offered, or the seller ignored 
altogether. 

"How much?" 

"Viente, Sefior!" 

"What ! Heaven and Earth ! Twenty dollars for that rag-piece !" 

"Quince? Diez? Cinco?" 

"Calla ! Calla ! Anda ! Shut up ! Go away ! I don't want it at any 
price." 

Patience becomes exhausted, and thus the intended victim 
expresses his indignation in both English and pigeon Spanish. But 
the persistent vender is not yet through with him. After awhile 
he comes round again with the same hat and holds it forth — 

"Cinco? Cuatra? Tres? Dos? Uno?" 

Too disgusted to reply the traveler turns away and with a far- 
away look in his eyes, as if he were thinking of home and friends, 
gazes longingly toward the foothills of the Andes. 

The onlooker watching such a scene and listening to the 
extortionate prices demanded and the deductions made to effect a 
sale is forced to ask himself : "Is there not some strain of the race 
of Father Abraham in these wily natives who try to impose upon 
their fellow-men by asking for an article a price more than twenty 
times its real value?" Verily, one would think there was, and that, 
after all, the Lost Tribe of Israel, which has puzzled the ethnologists 
so much and so long, must have wandered down to South America 
and left descendants worthy the prominent traits of their fore- 
fathers. 

Guayaquil looked so enchanting from the deck of the steamer 



80 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

that we were sorry we were not allowed to land, but on account of 
the yellow fever and the black plague, it was impossible to do so. 

Several newsboys were running about the deck crying the daily 
papers with a lustiness and persistence which would have done 
justice to the gamins of Park Row in New York. One passing my 
cabin was shouting, in shrill staccato, El Grito del Pueblo! that is, 
"The Cry of the People." It seemed to me that La Voz del Pueblo 
would have been a better title. I hastily purchased a copy and 
on looking over its columns learned that the day previous there were 
thirty-one cases of the 'Teste negra," or black plague, in the city, 
together with eight cases of yellow fever, and that five deaths 
had resulted from the latter scourge. It was reported that the 
black plague cases had increased to forty-three for the current day, 
and we inferred that this number was an underestimate, for the 
newspapers are averse to publishing full details, lest the people 
should become panic-stricken. In diseases of this kind they mini- 
mize, never exaggerate. 

To one who has never experienced the creepy spell of a fever- 
laden atmosphere, it is hard to explain the grewsome feeling that 
takes hold of one in the very shadow of the contagion. And as we 
had to remain two whole days for the purpose of unloading and 
reloading we had reason to feel somewhat uneasy. However, the 
first scare over, length of time accustomed us to circumstances and 
surroundings and made us, at least, immune to fear. 

Seen from shipboard the city of Guayaquil presents a view of 
spires, domes and roofs surmounting apparently handsome build- 
ings. The houses give one an idea of solidity, and look as if they 
were constructed in the solid masonry of stone and marble, but in 
reality they are mere shells, fashioned of split-bamboo, laths and 
wooden joists, and covered over with stucco, fashioned into many 
shapes and designs. A person might easily jab the blade of a 
knife through the walls. In fact, the greater portion of nearly all 
the South American cities and towns are built on the same flimsy 
lines. There is little of solidity about them, they have the semblance, 
but that is about all. The architecture for the most part is patterned 
after the old Spanish — open patios, latticed balconies overhead and 
corrugated roofs. The buildings are low, one and two story, to 
provide against earthquakes — they may shake, but they do not 
fall. 

Guayaquil was founded by Orellana, the explorer of the Amazon, 
in 1537 on a site much farther inland than where it now stands. The 



ALONG THE WESTERN COAST S3 

present location was chosen in 1693. Its population to-day is about 
60,000. It is called a city b} courtesy, but town would be a more 
fitting appellation. However, Quito, the capital, has only 20,000 
more people and is not by any means so important a commercial 
center. 

Guayaquil extends along the river for at least two miles. It has 
a custom-house, town-hall, cathedral, and some very good ware- 
houses. The mode of transit is represented by mule tramways. 
Generally speaking, the streets are narrow and unpaved. 

With the exception of Valparaiso, Guayaquil is the most populous 
and important port south of San Francisco. It is the entrepot for 
the interior region as well as much of the coast. Fully ninety per- 
cent, of all the commerce of Ecuador passes through it. Three 
hundred foreign vessels enter and clear the port every year. The 
imports annually amount to upward of $7,000,000 while the exports 
for the same time figure up more than $9,000,000. Chief of these 
is cacao, from which chocolate is made. Ecuador furnishes about 
fifty million pounds of cacao beans yearly, or almost one-third of 
the world's output. The cacao tree somewhat resembles a bush in 
our northern latitudes and is from ten to twenty-five feet high. 
The fruit-pods are rough, oval in shape, and of a pinkish yellow 
color. They are filled with a white pulp which has a sharp though 
pleasant taste. In this pulp the beans are imbedded in long rows, 
from twenty-four to thirty in each pod. When taken from the pod 
they are rubbed, washed and dried. 

Other exports that pass through Guayaquil include vegetable 
ivory from the tagua or ivory nut of which from forty-five to 
fifty million pounds are gathered annually, valued at almost 
$1,000,000, and crude rubber, some twelve hundred thousand 
pounds a year, worth from $600,000 to $700,000. 

No one can doubt that Guayaquil will be a very important center 
when the Panama Canal is opened. The distance from Guayaquil 
to New York at present by water is 11,500 miles. With the opening 
of the Canal this will be lessened to 2,800 miles. Think what an 
impetus will thus be given to commerce between the two ports ! 

We left Guayaquil on the morning of February 24th, and aided 
by both steam and tide rapidly descended the river. The water was 
alive with craft laden with produce. We observed many dugouts 
and canoes with Indians in bright colored blankets. Near the 
mouth of the river we passed a couple of balsas or house rafts, 
tenanted by men, women, children, pigs and poultry. These balsas 



84 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

are said to be unsinkable, the keel being constructed from cork. 
Indeed some of the men and women seemed to be made of cork 
also, for they were taking a bath, bobbing up and down in the 
water seemingly wholly oblivious or regardless of alligator or man- 
eating shark. 

Right at the mouth of the Guayas River lies the island of Puna, 
wnere some say Pizarro first landed on his way to conquer Peru. 
But it is doubtful if this was the place. I am inclined to believe 
that Tumbez, farther along the coast, was the first landing-stage 
of the bold ruffian who afterward, with but one hundred and eighty 
men at his back, set out to subdue the powerful Empire of the Incas. 

Leaving the Guayas behind we glided into the Zambelli Channel. 
We could discern a hazy ridge ahead — Isla de Plata, Little Silver 
Island, where the Spanish pirates of these waters buried great, 
quantities of plunder. None of the gold and silver has been found. 
Many such treasure islands, holding buried booty of buccaneers 
and pirates, lie off the Pacific Coast, but nobody seems to have 
either time or inclination to go after the hidden spoils. 

Passing Tumbez we saw a line of sandy beach, bordered by man- 
groves and algaroba trees, and inland a low crest of mountains. 
Probably through a slit in such a fringe of woody growth Pizarro 
and his few famishing followers, on his first expedition, forced 
their boats along, well nigh four hundred years ago. If this was 
indeed the place, the Spanish Conqueror first entered it in 1527. 
He returned to Panama and thence to Spain, bringing tidings of 
the rich land he had seen. It was in 1532 that he came back again, 
to undertake the conquest of the country. 

We were now looking on the shore line of Peru, dull looking 
and uninteresting truly, with long stretches of gray matter, which 
we were told was guano, the droppings of innumerable wild birds 
that frequent the coasts. This is the beginning of the great South 
American Desert lying between the mountains and the ocean and 
extending through Peru and Chile for more than two thousand 
miles. It is certainly bare and barren looking with not a leaf of 
grass or vegetation, nevertheless it is considered very valuable 
on account of the guano and nitrates. 

Dull as it appears from seaward, who can look on this land for 
the first time without thrills of emotion? Peru, the ancient, with 
a history as old as the eternal hills of the Cordilleras, whose civiliza- 
tion extends farther back than any of which the Old World can 
boast, antedating that of Assyria or Babylonia, Carthage or Mem- 




TREELESS PAYTA, PERU 




■ ■<****' JBL ■ -i 




IHH^H 



ANOTHER TREELESS TOWN, WEST COAST 



S5 




KAMBOO HOUSES AND SAND STREET, PAYTA 





A STREET SCENE, PAYTA 



ALONG THE WESTERN COAST 89 

phis, whose people were skilled artisans one thousand years before 
the Pharaohs cut their hieroglyphics on the obelisks of Egypt, whose 
bronzed and bearded bards sang of love and fame, two thousand 
years before Homer lisped his numbers in the myrtle groves of 
Greece, and whose sons and daughters had set up the throne of En- 
lightenment in the Temple of Knowledge three thousand years before 
Europe had emerged from the darkness of ignorance. Peru ! whose 
grandeur, magnificence and riches eclipsed the regal glory of the 
Court of Solomon, and whose treasures would have made the 
vaunted wealth of Imperial Rome pale into almost insignificance 
by contrast. Peru ! whose temples, palaces and towers flashed their 
gold-incrusted roofs and bejeweled walls in the sunlight, defying 
all succeeding time to duplicate their splendors. 

The wealth of the Incas, in the light of modern conception, really 
appears fabulous. Gold was everywhere. The yield of Ophir and of 
Ind was small in comparison to the yellow output of Peru. And 
not only the Incas but the common people literally wallowed in 
wealth. Spears, swords, shields, breastplates, helmets, armor of 
many shapes, were fashioned out of virgin gold. They also used it 
in the construction of their dwellings and they dined off gold plates 
incrusted with gems. They adorned their persons with jewels of 
the rarest kinds. We read of giant emeralds as big as men's heads 
and of diamonds and sapphires as large as hen eggs. 

The Spanish conquerors only got a small part of the treasures. 
Like the Aztecs of Mexico, the Incas had secret treasure-houses and 
secret palaces wherein they stored vast quantities of gold, jewels 
and other precious belongings. No amount of torture could make 
them divulge these hiding-places, and it is supposed that in the foot- 
hills of the Andes and other secret places, there are to-day tons 
of gold and other precious stores awaiting the lucky discoverers of 
the hidden recesses. 

Lately some relics of the long-gone past have been discovered in 
Peru. Highly artistic masks and toys, made by the Chimu race at 
least five thousand years before Christ, have been recently un- 
earthed ; the workmanship of these show the high state of skill and 
civilization these people had reached at this early period. 

There to larboard lay this wonderful land of Peru, this former 
empire of wealth and power; soon our feet would tread its soil. 

In the gray dawn of the morning, the next after that on which we 
had left the Guayas River, after passing Punta Parina, the extreme 
western point of the continent, we crept into the harbor of Payta 



90 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

and anchored. This is the first Peruvian port reached from the 
North. The town has a population of 5,000, most of whom are 
Indians. It is a miserable collection of mud-huts, a desolate place 
in a surrounding desert, with seemingly nothing to justify its 
existence, but we find it is the port for Piura, a cotton-producing 
center some miles inland. There is nothing green to refresh the 
eye, not a spear of grass or leaf of vegetation of any kind, only the 
bare, brown hills of the desert around it. One is forced to wonder 
how people live at all in such an arid place, but live they do, and 
most of them to a good old age too, as we were told, besides getting 
ocular proof of the fact. Some only die through extreme old age 
and sheer weariness of existence. There are many cases of remark- 
able longevity. 

There is no lack of commotion in the harbor when the steamer 
anchors. The captain of the port, in brilliant uniform, with his 
crew in white caps, blue blouses and red trousers, comes out for 
inspection. Numerous rowboats pull alongside, the fleteros or boat- 
men soliciting custom by shouting, "A tierra, a tierra, Seuor!" One 
must patronize them if he wants to go ashore. We got into one of 
these little boats and were rowed to the landing-stage. 

We wandered about the dusty, hot, smelling, unpaved streets, 
viewing the rickety, split-bamboo, little houses and studying the 
types of humanity we encountered. Some were selling post-cards, 
not of Payta — there is none — but of Piura, the larger town inland. 
Others were offering Panama hats and haggling over prices. We 
met many water-carriers going from house to house along the dusty 
streets; they do not carry the water themselves but load it in little 
kegs on the backs of mules. They had such a primitive appearance 
that they looked as though Pizarro himself might have employed 
them. The water is brought a distance of twenty-five miles from a 
fertile inland valley. 

In the region of Payta it is said rain falls only once in fourteen 
years, but some maintain it never rains at all, and I am inclined 
to endorse them. In fact I believe that rain never falls on any 
part of the whole Peruvian littoral. Our steamer ran parallel with 
the shore all the way and we saw no indication whatever of moist- 
ure — nothing but sand, nitrates and guano, and higher up barren 
rocks, unlike the Ecuador coast where, at the same altitude, there 
is exuberant vegetation. Of course in little intervening valleys 
patches of rice and sugar-cane grow, but these patches are not on 
the shore. 




DRIED FISH MARKET, PAYTA 




CUSTOM HOUSE, PAYTA 



ALONG THE WESTERN COAST 93 

We visited the open-air market-place at Payta, where we saw 
many kinds of fruits and vegetables, fresh and of very good quality. 
We noticed melons, alligator pears ("palta"), granadillas, lemons 
and cherimozas, the last-mentioned being considered the finest fruit 
along the coast. It is green in color, somewhat pear-shaped and 
about hve inches in diameter. There is a number of brown seeds in 
the center; the meaty part is yellow-white and has the consistency 
of custard, so it has been likened to strawberries and cream. The 
granadilla is also highly prized. It is the fruit of a climbing vine, 
a species of the passion flower; it is egg-shaped, has a reddish skin 
and is as large as an ordinary turnip ; the pulp is acidly sweet in 
taste. The "palta," or alligator pear, is a delicious fruit; it is from 
one to two pounds in weight and has a greenish-yellow pulp which 
melts like marrow in the mouth. There were many other tropical 
fruits exposed for sale, but it was impossible to sample all. 

Dreary as Payta is the romancers have twined a few legends 
around it. One of these tells of a flock of goats which constantly 
come down from the foothills for water. By the time they get back 
to the hills they are so thirsty they have to come down again, and 
so the goat-march is continually kept up. 

Another legend is associated with the church of Santa Merced. 
It is told that an English Commander named Anson once sacked 
this church, and that one of his followers, seeing the statue of the 
Virgin, struck it on the neck with his sword, whereupon blood 
gushed forth. The statue is still in the church and on each anniver- 
sary of its desecration, it is claimed, blood trickles from the spot 
the soldier struck. As I was not there on an anniversary day I 
can neither deny nor afhrm. 

Besides cotton, large quantities of petroleum are shipped 
through the port of Payta. 

Dull as the place is now it may have an active future. The har- 
bor can be made a good one, as there are facilities for the construc- 
tion of docks and wharves. After the Canal is opened it may be- 
come the leading gateway for the Amazon country. 

During stops at Eten, Pascamayo and Salaverry, the last named 
after the popular dramatic poet, many sacks of rice were taken on 
board. Rice is a staple food in all these coast towns, it forms part 
of the daily menu. We get it ourselves on board, served up as a 
plat de resistance, mixed with red chilli pepper. 

Eten is only a collection of little mud huts with a few ware- 
houses. 



94 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

At Pascamayo there is a fine iron mole, half a mile long, on which 
freight is run out on the cars of the Peruvian Corporation Railway. 
This railway connects Pascamayo with many towns of the rich 
Jequetepec valley. One of these is Cajamarca, an ancient seat 
of the Incas, where Atahualpa, the last of them, was murdered by 
the cruel Pizarro. Ruins of the Incas' palace remain, and even the 
site is pointed out of the room which Atahualpa filled with gold to 
satisfy Spanish greed and save his life, but in vain. 

The country all around Pascamayo is rich in mementoes of Incan 
civilization. Here can be seen fine specimens of the ancient huaca 
or pottery vases that tinkle when water is poured into them. 

Just before leaving Pascamayo we had an opportunity of seeing 
one of those diminutive sea skimmers called caballitos or little 
horses. The caballito is simply a bundle of straws tied to a fiat 
board. The manipulator straddles it as he would a horse and rides 
the waves with buoyancy and at a fair speed. 

We had planned a special excursion from Salaverry, the port for 
the ancient town of Truxillo, named by Pizarro after his birthplace 
in sunny Spain, our intention being a visit to the ruins of the Grand 
Chimu, but a dense fog brought the Huasco to a dead stop for 
the greater part of a day, so that when we arrived in port we were too 
late for the train. 

Salaverry is the outlet for a rich agricultural district especially 
adapted to the growth of sugar-cane. From this port to Callao our 
steamer resembled a floating menagerie. We had one hundred and 
fifty steers on board, besides crates, coops and boxes of chickens 
and ducks. We also had parrots — cages of them ; I counted thir- 
ty-five of these screaming, ear-splitting, nerve-wrecking, peace-de- 
stroying nuisances. 

Early on the morning of March 1, we arrived at Callao, the port 
of Lima, after a run, or rather a crawl, of thirty-six hours from 
Salaverry, and fourteen days out from Panama. By an ordinarily 
fast steamer and without making stops, this journey, which is only 
fifteen hundred miles, could be easily accomplished in three days. 

Callao has a fine harbor, stone pier and superior dock accommo- 
dation. There is always a bustle and activity which reminds one of 
a busy Northern port. More than a thousand vessels touch here 
every year. There was a perfect forest of masts and spars — the 
merchantmen of many nations. Everywhere both afloat and ashore 
there were signs of the restless activity which characterizes the 
place. 




ON THE PLAZA, PAYTA, "THE ONLY BIT OF GREEN" 




CATHEDRAL AND PLAZA, PAYTA 




WATER CARRIER, PAYTA 




'LITTLE PERLA" FROM PAYTA 




HARBOR SCENE, CALLAO 




A SUBURB OF CALLAO 



ALONG THE WESTERN COAST 101 

Housetops, church spires and factory chimneys reflected the 
morning sunshine in which they appeared solid structures of archi- 
tectural beauty, but here, as at Guayquil, it was a case of semblance 
not substance. The solid looking beauty was effected by stucco and 
plaster-of-Paris. 

When we got into the town we found it dreary and uninviting; 
the houses were similar to those we had seen, constructed of wood, 
cane and bamboo, covered over with plaster. The streets were very 
dusty. We were told the dust is sometimes converted into an almost 
impassable mire by the fine mist of the winter season. This mist 
serves the purpose of rain, for Callao, in common with the other 
coast towns, is rainless too. 

We did not visit old Callao, which stands farther out on the point 
than the present town. In :746 it was almost totally destroyed by 
an earthquake, when four thousand people perished. 

The modern town also has had its vicissitudes. It, too, has often 
suffered from fires and earthquakes, besides coming in for a share 
of misfortunes in other respects. The Spaniards bombarded it in 
1866 and fourteen years later the Chileans left but little behind 
them. However, it has always rallied and to-day has a population 
of twenty thousand and is a port from which a vast commerce is 
carried on with the rest of the world. The principal exports that 
pass through its gateway are cotton, sugar, rice, rubber, chinchona 
bark from which we obtain quinine, dyes, alpaca sheep's wool, 
llama's wool, gold, copper and silver . 

We did not remain long in Callao, as it did not appeal to us, and 
besides we were eager to get to Lima. To reach the electric train 
we had to jostle and elbow our way past sailors, boatmen, freight 
donkeys, water-carriers, venders of fruits, boys selling lottery tick- 
ets at the corners and many other nondescript characters who im- 
peded our progress to a considerable degree. 

At length, almost out of breath and perspiring freely, we got on 
the cars and in half an hour more found ourselves in the City 
Pizarro founded in 1535 — Lima, the capital of Peru. 



CHAPTER V 



LIMA, THE CAPITAL OF PERU 



IMPRESSIONS OF THE CITY OF PIZARRO 

The City of the Kings calls up many memories of the past as one 
looks upon it for the first time, saunters through its quaint streets, 
and gazes upon its relics of former greatness and power. The trav- 
eler feels somewhat the same emotions as he does in contemplating 
the ruins of Old Rome — his thoughts are of a by-gone period and it 
becomes difficult for him to concentrate his mind on his surround- 
ings in order to study the realities of the present. Nevertheless, 
the march of modern progress and the introduction of new ideas 
have done much to obliterate the landmarks of other days. But 
few objects remain to bear witness to its early history of greatness 
and importance. There is the old palace of the Holy Inquisition, 
now the Senate Chamber of the Peruvian Congress ; in this build- 
ing tortures were meted out to "heretics" and non-conformists for 
years after such practices were suppressed in Europe — the knout, 
the lash, the thumbscrew and the rack being in almost daily requisi- 
tion. The old ceiling, which looked down on revolting scenes of 
religious frenzy and fanaticism, still bends above the heads of Solons 
and legislators, though the effacing fingers of the years have given 
it some hard scratchings in passing. It is of dark wood, was 
exquisitely carved and is still beautiful despite the fact that many 
of the lines have lost their tracery through decay. This ceiling was 
a gift from the monks of the mother country of the conquistadores, 
and dates back to 1560. 

The House of the Viceroys can still be seen, grim landmark in- 
deed of a blood-stained era of rapine and pillage. Through its door 
on that fateful Sunday evening in June, 1541, the Almagrists under 

102 



"CITY OF THE KINGS" 103 

De Rada rushed forth in irresistible fury and hewed down the Sep- 
tuagenarian conquistador, who had won for Spain an empire, while 
at the same time writing in her history a carmine page of infamy 
and shame. 

That building across the way, where the House of Deputies now 
meet, was the Colegio de San Marcos — the College of St. Mark. 
This was the first University in the Western world, having been 
founded by King Charles V. in 1551, long before Henry Hudson 
sighted the river which bears his name or the first Dutch hut was 
erected on Manhattan Island. In 1752 it was raised to the dignity 
of a University, by a charter granted to the Jesuits under hand and 
seal of Philip II. The present University building includes the 
College of San Carlos, founded in 1770, where most of the better 
class of Peruvian youth are educated. Several hundred names are 
on the rostrum. 

But the strongest reminder of the past is the desiccated body of 
the notorious yet fearless adventurer himself, which is preserved 
in a glass case in the cathedral. In expectation of a monetary 
consideration, the sacristan or some of the monks will lead you 
to this case and allow you to gaze on the withered mummy once 
animated by the most indomitable spirit probably of which the 
history of the world makes record. Who can look unmoved upon 
the mortal remains of Pizarro ! Washington Irving, in writing of 
his visit to Stratford-on-Avon, tells of meeting a man who had been 
present when some work was being done on the tomb of Shakes- 
peare, and who had looked into the sarcophagus on the dust of the 
illustrious bard. In gentle irony the gifted American writer 
exclaims : "W T e think 'twas something to have seen the man who 
had seen the bones of Shakespeare." We may be pardoned when 
we say : "We think 'twas something to have gazed upon the earthly 
tenement of Pizarro." 

The capital of Peru was founded by Pizarro on Epiphany Day. 
January 6, 1535, and called by him Ciudad de los Reyes, "the 
City of the Kings," in allusion to the Magi who came to worship 
at the nativity of the Saviour. Pizarro was almost as much of a 
builder and founder as Rameses the Great. As soon as he had laid 
out the boundaries of the city, the Spaniards flocked into Peru 
from Spain by the thousands. The name, City of Kings, was 
retained by the capital officially for upward of two centuries. It 
became the seat of the succeeding Viceroys of Peru, who during 
most of the Colonial Period, ruled nearly all of Spanish South 



104 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

America. Their Court was resplendent with the pomp and panoply 
of power, and became the most magnificent in all America. Indeed 
its grandeur even to this day has never been equalled, much less 
eclipsed. The Church, then as now, according to Spanish observances 
from the earliest times of her history, was regarded as supreme 
both at home and abroad. She was given first place and all bowed 
to her dictum. Therefore the Archbishop of Lima was considered 
the most important prelate of the Western Continent. His rule 
was arbitrary, and there was no gainsaying his behests, injunctions 
or commands. In Lima, too, the religious orders had their head- 
quarters, and, as has been stated, it was the center of the Holy 
Inquisition, whose office was to make all conform to the dictates 
of the Church or suffer the consequences. Church buildings sprang 
up as if by magic, many of them costly and imposing in construc- 
tion. The Cathedral of Lima was and is one of the finest, if not 
the very finest, of ecclesiastical buildings in the Western 
Hemisphere. The original cost of erection was about nine million 
dollars, most of which was taken from the ninety millions Pizarro 
stole from the Incas. It was almost wholly destroyed by the 
terrible earthquake of 1746; but preparations were immediately 
made to replace it, and it was rebuilt on the first foundations. It 
stands on the Plaza Mayor, one of the finest public squares in the 
world. It is on an elevated marble terrace raised about six feet 
above the surrounding space. It has the usual two towers of 
imposing height, and the massive portal entrance is in the Moorish 
style. The older parts, including most of the pillars and columns, 
are of red marble, and offer somewhat of a striking contrast to 
modern additions in brick, stucco and wood. The interior is 
impressive, rich in ecclestiastical furnishings and trappings, many 
of the statues, ornaments and other adornments being constructed 
of solid silver — in fact a few are of virgin gold encrusted with 
precious stones. It has one of the best-toned organs in America. 
Besides containing the remains of Pizarro, the coffins of several 
of the succeeding Viceroys are in the crypt. 

There were some seventy other churches within the confines of 
Lima, but several have been turned over to secular uses. One of 
these churches, that of Santo Domingo, can lay claim to even a 
greater fame than the Cathedral, in being the receptacle of the 
body of a mortal who was not a conquistador, a fighter or an 
adventurer, but a true servant of God, who passed her life in 
penitence and prayer and was a bright exemplar for all in her 




CATHEDRAL, LIMA 




FACADE OF CATHEDRAL, LIMA 



105 



"CITY OF THE KINGS" 107 

community. This is the famous Rosa de Lima, honored in the 
Roman liturgy as St. Rose of Lima. She was canonized in 1668, 
and many Roman Catholic churches throughout the world ha^e 
been dedicated to her. There is one on West 165th Street, New 
York City. 

Ecclesiastical prerogative? and privileges still remain the same 
in Lima, and indeed throughout all Peru. Although the country 
proclaimed her independence of the motherland in 1821, being the 
very last of the South American possessions to throw off the 
Spanish yoke, the power of the Church has remained unabridged, 
and religious freedom is denied to the masses. 

Taken by San Martin, July 9, 1821, Lima remained in the hands 
of the patriots, with slight interruptions, during the war for inde- 
pendence. It has always been the focal point around which the 
contending parties have centered. Throughout the civil wars its 
possession always indicated the party having the upper hand. As 
the capital of the Peru-Bolivian Confederation, 1836-1838, it was 
taken by the Chileans, who united with Gamana and other revolu- 
tionists. It was again occupied by the Chileans, after several severe 
battles January 17, 1881, and was held by them until October 22, 
1883. During this occupation great damage was done to the city, 
especially to the noteworthy public buildings. The once famous 
museum and great public library were looted. The historic picture 
entitled "The Death of Atahualpa" was cut from its frame and sent 
to Santiago, but protests from foreign diplomats and others in 
power who were incensed at the spoliation compelled its return. It 
now hangs in the Exposition gallery. 

When the war between Chile and Peru commenced, the latter 
country was the dominant power on the West Coast. She had 
wealth, she had an army and navy supposedly much stronger than 
those of her opponent. Her capital had the prestige which attaches 
to the past, the seat of conquistadores and conquerors, and she had 
the traditions of the best blood of the land. Yet, when the war 
ended she was conquered, subdued, beaten, broken, probably never 
again to lift her head in the pride of her former greatness and 
glory. Her ships were captured or sunk, her fighting men had 
gone, her sea-ports and towns were razed and her boasted capital 
sacked by the invaders and despoiled of its best treasures. The 
Chileans had become the masters of the West. They made their 
way northward for hundreds of miles, taking away from Bolivia 
her Pacific outlet, sealing her up in the interior among the moun- 



108 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

tains. They stripped Peru of the enormously rich province of 
Tarapaca ; two other provinces, Tacna and Arica, were also ceded 
to Chile for a term of ten years. That time expired in 1893 and 
Peru was powerless to regain them. From these nitrate provinces 
Chile, up to the present, has collected almost half a billion dollars 
in exports — indeed the wealth in nitrates seems to be inexhaustible. 
In fact, no other country in the world has ever paid such tribute as 
has Peru. The subjugation of Peru was merely the oft repeated 
case of new methods overcoming the old, of modern progress 
passing ancient traditions on the way, and leaving them far behind 
to linger in the gray mists of history. 

Still, it cannot be denied that Peru made a brave, even a gallant 
stand against the invaders. Colonel Francisco Bolognesi proved 
himself a capable leader as well as a fearless soldier. At the battle 
of Arica, where he fell, when called upon to surrender he defiantly 
yelled — "Al ultimo cartucho," and indeed he and his two thousand 
Peruvian followers, though surrounded by more than twice that 
number of the enemy, literally did fight "to the last cartridge." 
When their ammunition was gone they fought hand to hand and 
valiantly died to the last man. Bolognesi' s brave lieutenant, Ugarte, 
rather than surrender spurred his horse off the cliff and plunged 
sheer seven hundred feet into the sea beneath. In many Peruvian 
homes you will see lithographs of this last, wild, despairing leap 
of the gallant Alfonso Ugarte. Bolognesi himself was cut down, 
and as he fell he wrapped the Peruvian flag around his body and 
breathed his last farewell into the folds he loved so well, for which 
he fought so well, and for which he gave up his life. Alas, the 
struggle was in vain ! There is no indication at present that Peru 
will ever regain her former greatness. Unless some untoward and 
unthought of circumstances arise to compel her, Chile will never 
give up the captured territory. 

Although Peru has had her siege of Paris and her Sedan, and 
lost, too, an Alsace and Lorraine, like France she is also emerging 
from the shadow of the valley into a brighter day, even if her sun 
may never shine again with the brilliancy of a former glory. She 
is trying to forget the bitterness of defeat and is beginning to make 
the best of her present situation and conditions. She is developing 
her industrial resources, opening copper and silver mines, erecting 
cotton mills, building sugar refineries, drilling oil-wells, making 
roads, irrigating her plains into fertile fields, constructing steam- 
ships, enlarging harbors and in a hundred other ways bringing 




CATHEDRAL AND PLAZA, LIMA 




DISTANT VIEW OF CATHEDRAL AND PLAZA, LIMA 



"CITY OF THE KINGS" 111 

millions of dollars of capital from other lands to enrich her own. 
Within the past ten years the value of Peruvian exports has risen 
from twelve to thirty million dollars. 

Her capital is taking on a new life, as it were — shaking off the 
effects of the trials and harassing vicissitudes through which it 
has passed and reaching for a place among the progressive common- 
wealths of the modern world. Of course the spirit of the past 
still hovers around and over it, but the genius of the present is 
exerting a power which is impelling the old city forward by steady 
degrees. The strides may be slow, but nevertheless they are 
advancing. 

True, the scars of past wounds are observable in many places 
yet, but they are gradually disappearing. The last wound cut deep; 
it was inflicted but a few years ago — 1897 to be exact — when 
ex-President Pierola entered the place with his revolutionists and 
more than three thousand people were slaughtered in the drowsy 
streets within the space of three days. 

Pierola deposed old President Carceres. He trained his Gatling 
guns against the city and raked the streets with steel and lead. 
The dead were carried out by the mule-load, and there were so 
many troop horses killed that their bodies could not be interred — 
they were sprinkled with coal-oil and burned. 

The Limenos are bravely trying to forget the scenes of violence 
through which they have passed. They are letting the dead past 
bury its dead, and have no desire whatever to resurrect the 
skeletons. They have faith in the present and hope for the future. 
They are endeavoring to emulate the best examples of Europe and 
the United States. 

Lima has its social set fashioned on similar lines to the beau 
monde of the Bois de Bolougne, Rotten Row and Fifth Avenue. 
They may not have such great wealth, but they have the pretensions 
and their tastes are just as esthetic. Well-dressed ladies can be 
seen lolling indolently on the silk cushions of carriages, victorias, 
and landaus, attended by smartly groomed, well-uniformed footmen, 
taking their morning or evening drives through the squares and 
suburbs. Gentlemen whizz by in limousines and tonneaus with a 
recklessness worthy of New York itself. 

The clubs are as up to date and in some cases surpass any we 
have at home. There is a spirit of camaraderie and good-fellowship 
which makes one feel immediately at ease and in spirit with his 
surroundings. Polish, politeness and good breeding are met at 



112 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

every turn. There are also most of the modern conveniences from 
the cuisine of the kitchen to the well-appointed billiard, smoking 
and reading rooms. In the last mentioned the visitor can find 
the leading magazines and newspapers representing the chief 
civilizations of the world. He can pick up the New York Herald, 
the Illustrated London News, the Times, La Temps, Fliegende 
Blatter, the Melbourne Argus and dozens of others of foreign 
periodicals, besides the home productions such as El Comercio and 
La Prensa of Lima, and the Caras y Caretas of Buenos Aires. In 
a word, he has the latest news of the world at his elbow, so that 
in a moment he can with extensive view "survey mankind from 
China to Peru." 

The hotels of Lima can very favorably compare with those of 
cities of similar size in any part of the United States or even of 
Europe. 

The most fashionable promenade of Lima is the beautiful paseo 
drive, known as the Colon. A band generally plays here in the 
afternoons and the youth and fashion of the city turn out in great 
numbers. Some come in fine carriages and luxuriantly recline on 
the cushions to drink in the delicious music. 

The main artery or pulse of the community is the wide plaza 
which is occupied on one side by the Cathedral. The National 
Palace, which as we have said, is now given over to State functions, 
takes up another ; on a third we find hotels, clubs, shops and various 
other buildings. The enclosed space is laid out with flowers and 
tropical shrubs, in the midst of which a marble fountain constantly 
plays, its spray of waters producing many beautiful iridescent 
tints of coloring in the sunshine by day and in the artificial light 
by night. This plaza, however, is not a fashionable promenade. In 
this respect it is not like the Colon. Wealth, fashion or rank 
scarcely ever appear here. The elite of society seldom, if ever, 
come. The visitors and habitues generally belong to the lower 
middle class and to the pueblo or common working class. Here 
these people enjoy themselves in the cool of the evenings after 
the day's toil, and drink in the soft balmy air charged with luscious 
scents from myriads of odoriferous flowers and shrubs. 

As regards its general aspect, Lima is a pleasing city, but its 
seeming grandeur is counterfeit, only apparent to the vision. There 
is little of solidity about it. When seen from the harbor its roofs, 
towers and church-spires stand out against the background of the 
Andean foothills and gleam white in the light of day, as if they 




STREET SCENE, LIMA 




RIMAC RIVER AT LIMA 



113 



"CITY OF THE KINGS" 115 

were composed of Carrara marble. This deceptive appearance is 
accentuated to a great degree by the neutral tints of the surrounding 
desert land. In reality most of the buildings are composed of sun- 
dried brick, mud, bamboo splits or lath and lime, covered with 
stucco and plaster-of-paris, in many places molded into artistic 
and fantistic shapes and forms to catch the eye. Architecturally 
speaking, there is little or nothing in Lima different from that of 
other Spanish South American cities and towns. They are almost 
all invariably constructed in the same way — of the flimsiest 
materials, except some of the churches and large public buildings. 

It is said that a good rainstorm would sweep the most of Lima 
away, but fortunately there is never a downpour in this arid capital. 
Few of the houses are over two stories, and this is as it should be, for 
the recurrent earthquakes render taller buildings inadmissible. The 
skyscraper is impossible. At any rate there is no call for it, as 
space is not at a premium nor does the rush for the "almighty 
dollar" in anyway approach the intensity of keeness with which it is 
sought in the United States. In fact most of the towns of Latin 
America lying in their sleeping laziness are the antitheses of the 
hustling, bustling centers of mercantile action which characterize 
the land of Uncle Sam. 

Though Peru, as we have said, is trying to rouse herself into 
commercial activity by bringing foreign capital to her shores, never- 
theless her towns, as yet, are "sanctuaries of silence" when com- 
pared to the noisy arenas of Yankee enterprise and endeavor. There 
is nothing of the rude struggle of life which is felt so palpably in 
Northern cities and happily, too, the blatant roar, the ostentatious 
glare, the disgusting vulgarity and display of wealth are also absent. 

There is something of a rest and charm about the old streets 
of these drowsy towns which appeal to the finer sensibilities of the 
soul and harmony of the fitness of things, so that one does not wish 
them other than what they are. 

Though Lima has been the scene of many conflicts and stirring 
adventures, there is still an air of quietude and repose about it 
which soothes the nerves and calms the heart. No doubt some of 
the streets at times are rather crowded and the tenements congested, 
but there is never that feeling of oppression which one experiences 
in the hives of population in Northern lands. 

There is a freedom of intercourse which is at the same time 
admirable and delightful. Though society is divided into classes 
there is none of that ignorant hauteur or purse-proud ascendancy 



116 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

which makes the rich despise those in less fortunate circumstances 
than themselves. There are no upstart parvenus to trample on the 
weak or take advantage of their fellows by any underhand methods. 
Those who have acquired wealth legitimately do not make affluence 
a barrier to hedge them in from the poorest of their kind. "Upper- 
Tendom" in Lima may put on airs and ape style and manners of 
the great capitals, but it never despises "Lower-Fivedom." In fact 
there is a democratic familiarity among the classes which evinces 
good sense as well as the good morality of living in conformity to 
the Golden Rule. 

Probably according to its size Lima is the most cosmopolitan city 
in the world. Chinese, Negroes, Indians, Mestizos, Cholos and 
Quichuas dovetailed in among Americans, Spaniards, Englishmen, 
Irishmen, French, Germans, Italians, and even Turks present a 
human mosaic equally interesting to the social student and the 
ethnologist. The population is estimated at about 160,000, though 
some maintain that there are more than 200,000 within the city and 
near-by suburbs. A general classification divides them as follows : 
Of Spanish descent, thirty-three per cent. ; half-breeds, twenty-seven 
per cent. ; Indians, seventeen per cent. ; foreigners, twelve per cent. ; 
Negroes, six per cent, and Chinese, five per cent. A few representa- 
tives of the wandering race of Israel may also be found in Lima. 
In the market-place one hears a perfect Babel of tongues, and he 
who would understand half must needs be a thorough polyglot or 
modern Mezzofanti. English, German and Italian merchants have 
their stores side by side, and these vary in construction according 
to the nationality of the owners. All three differ in style from the 
native stores and shops. These latter have no windows and the 
doors run the full width so that the whole front is pushed back or 
taken away during business hours. Many of these shops are like 
caves, the only light coming from the front, and the cave-likeness 
is increased by the long distance they extend in the rear. A view 
of such shops also reminds one of so many cells separated by thin 
partitions. The Mercadores is lined with these dark little stores. 

Some of the business streets are not more than twenty feet in 
width, and the side-walks take up four feet of this space. 
Pedestrians often have to give the right of way to mules saddled 
with panniers and take to the middle of the roadway. 

The business hours of the stores are generally from 7 a. m. until 
1 1 a. m. and from 2 p. m. until 6 p. m. Nearly all are closed during 
the mid-day hours. Most of the trading is done in the gayest 




MILK PEDDLER, LIMA 




BULL RIXG, LIMA 



"CITY OF THE KINGS" 119 

part of the day, that is, from 3 to 5 o'clock in the afternoon, at 
which time the traffic is greatest and the crowds almost as dense 
as those at the bargain counters of a New York department store 
on bargain Fridays. But they differ very widely from a New York 
crowd, inasmuch as there is no rush, no hurry, no bustle, no excite- 
ment at all, no frantic-looking women shoving, pushing and tearing 
one another to get to counters. There is order and decorum and 
every one is as quiet as if all were attending a prayer-meeting, 
speaking only when it is necessary to do so. Friends and acquaint- 
ances meet, bow, shake hands and pass on. All are very well dressed 
and look as if they were prosperous, though many may be lacking 
in wordly possessions. 

The Limenos believe in outside show, and on all occasions 
endeavor to put on a fair exterior. Of course the well-to-do, — and 
there are many such, — have no need of simulation, but those who 
have not wealth try by every means in their power to counterfeit it 
and make the world believe they are rolling in opulence, though 
there is never any show of that vulgar display so indicative of 
purse-proud Northerners. The men wear tall hats, cutaway coats, 
patent leather shoes, kid gloves, and both the old and young invari- 
ably carry canes. The women and girls generally dress in black. 
They do not, as a rule, wear bonnets, but wrap fine shawls of black 
goods about their heads, pinning them fast to the shoulders, so 
that only their faces can be seen. These shawls are called mantas 
or mantillas, and are very graceful in their adjustment. It may be 
said that the women of Lima are the most beautiful south of the 
Equator. Indeed they can favorably compare with those of any land 
beneath the sun. They are straight and well rounded, with soft, oval, 
olive faces, luxuriant masses of black hair combed up in pompa- 
dour fashion from high foreheads, and their eyes are dark, large and 
luminous, glowing with the passion of Southern blood. Paradoxical 
as it may seem, these females are intensely devoted both to worldly 
amusements and to religion. One hour you will find them at the 
dance, the music-hall, or the theater, the next you will find them in 
the cloistered light of some church, prostrate on their knees before 
a statue of the Virgin, beating their breasts and each crying peccavi 
for past transgressions. On the streets they generally carry prayer- 
books and rosaries. 

All the Limenos seem to be intensely religious, but it has been 
proved that many have assumed the cloak of religion solely for the 
purpose of furthering their own schemes and designs and to hide 



120 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

their hypocrisy and double-dealing. They have trafficked in religion, 
in other words have 

... stolen heaven's livery 
Wherewith to serve the devil." 

This is nothing new, however. Lima is not the only city nor Peru 
the only country in which religion has been made subservient to 
base motives and dark schemes. 

Peru is the greatest stronghold of Roman Catholicism on the 
Western Continent. The cult of other religions is permitted but 
not sanctioned by the State. Protestant and other denominations 
are allowed to worship merely by courtesy. Whether the Roman 
Church has done Peru good or harm it is not for me to say. Neither 
can I say if it has benefited the Indian by bringing him into the 
white light of its civilization. He might have worked out his destiny 
and salvation and arrived at as high a plane of civilization by way of 
his Inca religion. The Cross of Christ and the sword of persecution 
have been too often held aloft by the same hand. 

At any rate the religion of Rome has been as good for the 
Indian as that of any other Christian church would have been — 
probably better. One thing is certain, it is useless for any other 
Church to step in at this date. The evangelizers and missioary 
societies are but wasting time and money, and as intimated above, 
it is only through courtesy they are permitted at all. Evangelical 
experiments in all Latin countries have had the same result. The 
power of Rome may be weakened, members may be alienated from 
her fold, but that does not mean that their defection is an accession 
to the ranks of evangelical Protestantism. Not at all ! It simply 
means a gain to the ranks of materialism and finally atheism, for 
such is the goal to which the seceders eventually drift. 

Lima was formerly called the "Rome of South America," and 
to a certain extent it still deserves the title. Church feasts and 
saints' days are looked upon as of the first importance ; and on 
these occasions the people turn out in thousands, and public worship 
is transferred from the churches to the streets. Two of the most 
important festivals are Easter and Corpus Christi. In celebrating 
the latter the priest carries the host through the streets, walking 
under a canopy of cloth of gold upheld by four acolytes and 
preceded by trains of boys and girls strewing flowers along the 
way. Altars are erected at different places along the route ; these 
are called altars of repose. On them for a time in passing the host 



"CITY OF THE KINGS'* 121 

is placed in a golden monstrance and the multitudes kneel down 
and worship. At such ceremonies the President, his cabinet, and 
his staff attend, as well as the army. There are military salutes 
from the guns and great pomp is observed throughont. Drums beat, 
bands play, incense fills the air, and everything is done to give 
spectacular effect. 

The traveler of another faith, on looking upon such a scene of 
tinseled grandeur and loud-sounding display, is constrained to ask 
himself, — What has all this got to do with the religion of Christ, in 
whose honor these ceremonies ostensibly take place? — Christ, the 
lowly Man of Galilee, the humble Carpenter of Nazareth, who led 
a life of poverty and sufferings, who often went hungry, over the 
bleak hills of Judea with scarcely a place to lay His head or rest 
His weary bones? 

Oh, yes, "a Carpenter gave us our creed !" Do we honor Him 
by arraying ourselves in purple and fine linen, by gold-embroidered 
vestments and incense, by the fanfare and blare of trumpets? Oh, 
no ! Christ is honored not in externals, but in internals, in the 
heart and not in the outward display. 

"What care I for caste or creed? 
It is the deed, it is the deed ; 
What for class or what for clan? 
It is the man, it is the man ; 
Heirs of love and joy and woe, 
Who is high and who is low ? 
Mountain, valley, sky and sea, 
Are for all humanity. 

What care I for robe or stole? 
It is the soul, it is the soul ; 
What for crown, or what for crest? 
It is the heart within the breast; 
It is the faith, it is the hope ; 
It is the struggle up the slope, 
It is the brain and eye to see 
One God, and one humanity." 

The ritual and ceremonies of the Catholic Church throughout 
all Peru are carried out on an elaborate scale with a view to impres- 
siveness, but much of the impressiveness vanishes with a considera- 
tion of the methods employed. The system is an appeal to the soul 
through the eye and not through the heart. There is little of 
solidity about it — glamor for reality, glare for substance. In this 
respect it resembles the church buildings, many of which are showy 
without and shabby within. It is a fact that most of the church 



122 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

edifices are built of mud, frescoed and plastered on the outside 
with stucco to give the semblance of solidity. It is only the big 
gaudy show-places of religion like the Cathedral, which show 
solidity of architecture and which have cost much to erect them. 

Often, the interior furnishings are gaudy almost to disgust, look- 
ing in their flash of colorings more like oriental harems than 
sanctuaries of religion. There are flashy altars banked with stacks 
of candelabra and ornamented or rather disfigured by tinseled trap- 
pings. Pictures little better than caricatures hang around the walls, 
and in innumerable niches here and there are simpering, painted, 
delft dolls, by courtesy called statues, representing the saints and 
other scriptural personages. These do not appeal to the religious 
instinct, but, on the contrary, repel those of finer feelings and 
esthetic tastes. Yet they seem to have a powerful influence on the 
so-called lower classes, and especially on the Indian, whose nature 
always inclines to the bizarre. 

Some of the old-time churches, however, are exceptions, being 
really beautiful in their calm dignity, with a hallowed air about them 
which gives a charm to true religion. They are especially appealing 
to the higher attributes of the soul when the calm of evening falls 
and the slanting rays of sunlight come softly through the stained- 
glass windows, mellowing altars and draperies and girdling, as it 
were, the brows of virgins, saints and martyrs with aureoles of 
living light, making them almost appear endowed with life, stand- 
ing in the silent sanctuary like ambassadors treating with the Court 
of Heaven in behalf of earthly mortals, appealing, as it were, to 
the Father for His wayward, erring children. 

The Cathedral even, from an outside view, impresses the traveler 
with a sense of the beautiful, in massive proportions as well as 
with the dignity of religion. Viewed from across the plaza when 
the shadows are slowly gathering and the great facade stands out 
as a background to the dark green foliage of palms and shrubs and 
tropical plants, and when the arcades are illuminated, the fountain 
playing and the liquid notes of soft music float out on the still air, 
the scene and surroundings form a vista never to be forgotten, — one 
indeed in itself well worth a trip to Lima. 

I have already mentioned some of the other prominent land- 
marks of the capital, — the Palace of the Presidents, Hall of the 
Inquisition, the University of San Marco. We visited the last- 
mentioned seat of Peruvian learning and was conducted through 
the class-rooms by one of the suave and polite students. When 



"CITY OF THE KINGS" 123 

I offered to remunerate the young man for his kindness and 
courtesy he declined any monetary consideration, respectfully 
soliciting "tarjeta de visita, Sehor !" instead. I gladly handed him 
my card, as I presumed he wished to have it as a souvenir of my 
visit to the institution. 

In the medical school attached to the University we saw some 
youthful Peruvian Esculapians carving up the bodies of some 
unfortunate Cholos for the good of Science. Later on, in the great 
"Dos de Mayo" hospital we saw several of these half-starved brown 
men from the mountains lying in the wards, and had no doubt 
that eventually their bodies would reach the dissecting table. This 
hospital is a very noteworthy edifice. It was erected at a cost of 
over a million dollars and has seven hundred beds. 

The National Library of Lima, after that of Rio, was the finest 
on the continent, being particularly rich in historical works and 
manuscripts relating to Peru. It was sacked by the Chileans in 1881, 
and though it was reopened in 1884, only a small part of the 
priceless treasures were recovered. The Exposition Building, a kind 
of national museum erected in 1872, is a handsome structure sur- 
rounded by beautiful pleasure grounds which are now used as a 
private promenade. The Bank of Peru and London is a prominent 
building of a modern type of architecture. 

The ordinary houses in Lima, especially in the older parts of 
the city, are far from imposing. Of course, they were patterned 
after the style then prevailing and still prevailing in rural Spain. 
Some have only one story, but two stories are the general limit. 
The lower of these stories is either of mud or adobe, that is, sun- 
dried brick ; the upper, of cane and plaster. They have no chimneys, 
and on the ground floor overlooking the street only a few windows, 
all of which are barred. The poorer sections are largely made up of 
callejones or alleys. There are hundreds of these little blind alleys, 
which are reached through doors in the walls along the main 
streets. As there are no chimneys, most of the cooking is done 
over charcoal fires. There are little courts in the center of the 
buildings, and most of these are planted with flowers. 

In the two-story houses of the better class, galleries run around 
the courts and the rooms opening on these are very well ventilated. 
Some of the wealthy have houses which are more or less pretentious 
and occupy a good deal of space, but nearly all have barred windows 
and are entered through barred gates, which give them the appear- 
ance of a prison. 



124 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

There is a kind of renaissance, however, taking place at present 
in the architecture of Lima. Houses are now being erected of three 
and four stories, and both bricks and cement blocks are being used 
in the construction, and windows are being inserted in all stories. 
It is much to be wondered at that this innovation did not take place 
long since ; and more so that a city which aspires to modern progress 
should be content with such miserable makeshifts of mud and 
stucco, relics of an almost barbarous past. This is especially notice- 
able in a land which boasts of the marvelous remains of the Inca 
palaces, which were constructed of cyclopean stones so large as 
to be almost beyond credibility, and slabs of rock so huge that they 
dwarf those of the Egyptian pyramids ; and these slabs were formed 
and mortised in such a way, as shown in the ruins, that it is 
impossible to insert a knife-blade between them. 

Besides, Lima has at her own doors all the materials for solid 
masonry. Near the city are splendid granite quarries and natural 
accessories for the construction of solid dwellings which might 
easily defy all seismic disturbances. There is no necessity for height, 
which is undesirable on account of the earthquakes, but there is 
certainly necessity for solidity and light as appurtenances to comfort 
and health. Were Lima subject to the violent tropical rainstorms 
which characterize other sections, the city would dissolve like a 
snow-bank in the sun-heat, but unlike snow it would leave a dirty 
debris. To borrow a simile from Mr. Squier, it would be like "a 
withered cane-brake in a gigantic wind puddle." 

In going about the streets of Lima the visitor sees some strange 
sights and meets some curious adventures — that is to say, strange 
and curious to the foreigner. The Limenos have some customs 
peculiar to themselves. One meets venders, hucksters, and peddlers 
at every turn, but these are widely different from those encountered 
elsewhere. Most of the peddling is done from horseback, muleback, 
and donkeyback. The horses are small but spirited animals, and 
have an easy, gentle gait which carries the riders along over the 
cobbles with as great ease as if they were on rubber-tired wheels. 
The Indian women ride astride, and are excellent equestriennes. 
The milk of the city is carried about in tin cans tied to the sides of 
the animals. The venders, male and female, sit between the cans. 
The Indian women dress in very bright colored, light material, 
such as calico or gingham, and wear huge-brimmed Panama hats. 
When they reach the house of a customer they slide down from 
their places, take up one of the cans, go into the house and ladle 




BOLIVAR STATUE, LIMA, AUTHOR AND FRIENDS 



"CITY OF THE KINGS" 127 

out the quantity of lacteal fluid required. Indian women and boys 
also peddle loaves of bread around the streets, carried in large 
panniers suspended from the sides of horses, mules and donkeys. 
Vegetables are also peddled in the same way. In fact, all sorts 
of produce are carried round in a similar manner on the backs of 
animals. When the load is large the vender sits behind, facing 
the tail of the beast, and props his back against his wares, so as 
to prevent their sliding. 

Another characteristic feature of the lower class Limenos, and 
one which does not appeal to the finer sensibilities of the visitor, 
is the seeming inveterate habit of gambling by means of lottery 
tickets. In this respect they are about as bad as the policy runners 
of New York's congested East Side. They meet you at every corner 
and turn — on the streets, in the cafes, hotel corridors, shops and 
stores — men, women, boys, girls and even little children, importuning 
you to buy tickets and win a fortune. They boldly thrust the filthy 
pasteboards into your hands with such expressions as : "Don't miss 
your opportunity!" "A fortune awaits you!" "Buy! Buy! Buy!" 
Of course, they are the flotsam and jetsam of the city, the derelicts 
which we find almost everywhere floating on the dirty waters of 
the human tide. What commission these unfortunates get for sell- 
ing the tickets we know not, but doubtless there is "some one 
higher up," or a syndicate of swindlers behind the system who 
reap a goodly harvest from the ill-gotten gains. 

As I have said, there are no chimneys on the houses. The flat 
roofs are a favorite place for the raising of chickens. Thousands are 
hatched, lay eggs, grow fat and are killed without ever seeing the 
ground below. One is liable to be disturbed any hour of the night 
by the crowing of roosters. In fact, visitors have often had to 
complain of the sleep-destroying racket made by the birds. But 
the Limenos don't mind it, they are used to it and doubtless would 
feel lonely did they not hear the clarion notes of chanticleer. 

Altogether, Lima is a wonderful city ; one soon gets used to its 
peculiarities, however, and the more familiar he becomes the better 
he likes it. 

Strangers are always welcome, and the social life among the 
better classes is pleasant, for they are really refined and educated, 
put on no airs, do not simulate or conceal their real feelings, but 
meet the visitor in an open-hearted way and do their best to 
entertain him while he remains within their gates. 



CHAPTER VI 



THE HIGHEST RAILROAD IN THE WORLD 



FROM SEA-LEVEL TO THE ROOF OF PERU 



Almost everybody who visits Lima and its neighborhood wishes 
to make a trip up the wonderful Oroya Railroad, which, com- 
mencing at the sea-level of Callao, winds up the face of the moun- 
tains to a culminating altitude of 15,665 feet before reaching 
Oroya. 

We devoted a day to an excursion over this famous route, which 
has conquered the grim fastnesses of the Andes, harnessed their 
rugged sides with bands of steel, and enabled the traveler to scale 
their frowning precipices with comparative ease in comfortably cush- 
ioned cars drawn by the power of a steam locomotive. 

The construction of the Oroya Railroad has been the most daring 
feat of engineering skill yet accomplished by man. The honor of 
undertaking it, if not carrying it to a successful completion, belongs 
to a citizen of the United States. 

The man who proposed the scheme and commenced operations 
was Mr. Henry Meiggs, a native of the Empire State of New York, 
an individual who was deeply imbued with the Yankee spirit of 
hustle and determination which no difficulties can deter and no 
obstacles conquer. Meiggs was not an engineer, but a business man 
who kept his weather eye open to all opportunities. He began his 
career in his native State, v here he made considerable money, but 
being of an adventurous and enterprising disposition he sought fur- 
ther fields of endeavor. In the gold days of California he brought a 
shipload of lumber around the Horn to San Francisco to help in the 
construction of the Queen City, then rearing her virgin head in the 
Western sunshine by the shimmering waters of the Pacific On this 

128 



ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 129 

he realized an enormous profit, on which he started out as one of 
the great business pioneers of the West. He speculated largely, 
bought timber lands, erected saw-mills, purchased carrying brigs 
and schooners, and became a powerful factor in the industry and 
development of the new country. He overreached his ability, how- 
ever, and finally found himself in enormous debts, impossible for 
him then to liquidate. Under such financial pressure, he fled to 
South America, leaving behind him in unpaid bills and other de- 
mands more than a million dollars of indebtedness. This was in 
1854. Meiggs was baffled for the time being, but by no means 
beaten. Such a spirit as his refused to be downed. He soon en- 
tered into relations with the Chilean Government for the construc- 
tion of the first railway in that country between Valparaiso and 
Santiago. He successfully carried through this enterprise, clearing 
a sum much more than the indebtedness he had left behind in Cali- 
fornia. It may here be said that Meiggs finally discharged all his 
obligations to the last cent, not even forgetting his former washer- 
woman, but he never could be induced to return to the Golden 
State, though, when at the height of his career, he got many invi- 
tations from both the people and the Legislature. 

The second adventure of Meiggs in South America was the 
building of Peru's original railway line from Mollendo to Arequipa. 
This project netted him a profit of almost two million dollars. His 
fame became firmly established. He proved that he could "deliver 
the goods" and do what he said. He was no dreamer, no theorist, 
but a practical, hard-headed Yankee who had discarded the word 
impossible from the lexicon of his endeavors and undertakings. 
Though not an engineer himself, the best engineers in the world 
believed in him and were willing to go according to his plans and 
directions. 

It was in 1869 that Meiggs projected the Oroya line. The news 
that he had entered into a contract with the Peruvian Government 
to construct a railroad from Callao, the port of Lima, right over 
the summit of the Andes with a view to reach the silver and copper 
mines of Cerro de Pasco and eventually open up to commerce the 
country around the head waters of the Amazon, startled the financial 
world, for the task was deemed impossible, the undertaking im- 
practicable. What ! throw a railroad across those soaring summits 
among the clouds ! Drive a locomotive up those frowning sides of 
rock and granite ! Pshaw ! the very idea was absurd, chimerical, 
Quixotic ! The wiseacres shook their heads and intimated that 



130 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Meiggs had overreached himself at last. Even experienced engi- 
neers frowned on the project. 

What of Meiggs? He quietly listened to the talk and in his 
own grim way smiled at the adverse criticism. He well knew the 
undertaking was colossal, so formidable indeed that probably not 
another man living would have undertaken it. But Meiggs was 
cast in a mold different from most men. Such as he are turned 
out at rare intervals, and it seems the Almighty breaks the pattern 
each time He fashions one of them. Meiggs simply said : "It can 
be done and I'll do it." 

He floated $29,000,000 in bonds and went to work. The terms 
of his contract called for his delivering the road ready for operation, 
for which he was to receive $125,000,000 payable in instalments 
as the work proceeded. At first the instalments were paid regularly 
enough, but after a time the government was compelled to borrow 
money from Europe and continued borrowing until Peruvian credit 
could go no further. Europe refused Peruvian bonds. Meiggs 
then accepted obligations from the Peruvian Government, and con- 
tinued to do so until in fact he owned the entire republic. Peru 
could do no more. Soon, too, the hands of Meiggs became tied for 
want of ready cash. Under such circumstances the work had to be 
abandoned for the time being. So far it had cost Meiggs more 
than $300,000 for every mile of its length. But a greater cost 
than the financial one was the heavy toll it exacted in human lives. 
Several thousand men perished in the first construction of eighty-six 
miles. There are belts or zones in the region of this railroad where 
a foul miasma lurks and clings to every bush and shrub and rock, 
exhaling poisonous vapors deadly to all kinds of animal life, with the 
possible exception of ophidians. One of the worst of these is 
around Verrugas. Here a steel bridge was built over the foaming 
torrent of the Verrugas. This bridge was 575 feet long and 270 
feet high above the water. It was swept away March 24, 1879, 
but was again rebuilt in 1890. It seems to be an unfortunate spot 
in every way. On February 8, 1909, the bridge once more col- 
lapsed, bringing down to instant death many American bridge- 
builders with a large number of natives. This latest accident was 
due to a runaway engine which crashed into a repair train located 
on the bridge. 

In face of this misfortune both freight and passengers have to be 
carried across by means of a cable, that is, a little car runs on a 
rope stretched across from rock to rock above the yawning depth 



ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 133 

where the Verrugas foams and churns hundreds of feet below. 
However, the daring and skill of the engineers will soon span the 
abyss again. It may be imagined that to go across the bridgeless 
chasm in such a manner is trying on the nerves, but one must forget 
he has any nerves at all when he essays the ascent of the Oroya, 
and be prepared for any and all kinds of experiences. 

The disease or pestilence known as Verruga which scourges this 
region is one of the worst afflictions of humanity and one which, 
so far, has baffled every effort of modern science. The name is de- 
rived from the Latin verruca, a wart ; in Spanish, verruga. 

Verruga is a skin disease characterized by an eruption of thou- 
sands of tiny, bloody warts. The blood slowly oozes from each little 
papule and as there are such a great number of these papillae, wide 
areas of the skin are covered with loathsome bloody patches. The 
exudation of the blood saps away the strength until the victim suc- 
cumbs from weakness. 

The medical world recognizes several skin diseases under the 
same generic heading, such as verruca vulgaris, verruca plana, ver- 
ruca acuminata, etc., but all are different and distinct from the 
Andean affliction. Northern medical men and scientists have tried 
to combat it, but there is absolutely nothing as yet discovered which 
has the slightest effect upon it. It is reckoned worse than cholera 
or the bubonic plague or even leprosy. Scientists are of the opinion 
that it originates in some miasmatic poison, vegetable or mineral, 
peculiar to the locality. In the construction of the railway near 
this place, namely from Chosica to Matucana, a distance of twenty- 
seven miles, two hundred men died of verruga. 

Near the latter place, Matucana, Meiggs also had an unfortunate 
natural set-back in 1874 when an avalanche suddenly covered a 
railway camp with mountain detritus, burying three hundred of his 
men. This avalanche dammed the river Rimac and a great volume 
of water accumulated which threatened the inundation of Lima and 
caused grave concern for the inhabitants. Meiggs, however, was 
equal to the occasion. He secured Chinese labor at a cheap rate, 
personally directed the men, and in a short time had the waters 
running in their natural channel. 

The fiscal failure of the Peruvian Government to carry on the 
work precipitated the railroad into the hands of private bondholders. 
In 1877 negotiations were resumed with Europe for the purpose of 
effecting more loans, and undoubtedly Peru would have been able 
again to interest the moneyed powers, but the unexpected death of 



134 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Meiggs in that year called off all treaties and once more the scheme 
had to stand in abeyance. Meiggs died in Lima, where he had built 
for himself and family a palatial mansion, one of the great show- 
places of the city. Soon after, the war betwen Peru and Chile 
broke out and further thought of railway construction was aban- 
doned during hostilities. 

When peace was concluded in 1884 the Peruvian Corporation, an 
organization of English and American capitalists formed by the firm 
of W. R. Grace & Co., of New York, undertook the resumption 
of construction. A tunnel was cut right through the mountain 
which bears the name of Meiggs, and which has an altitude of about 
17,700 feet, to the other side of the Andes, where the road descends 
to the valley of the Jauja, through the rich silver mining region of 
Yauli and finally ends at Oroya, an Indian market town situated at 
over 12,000 feet above sea-level. 

A branch line of the railroad, sixty-eight miles in length, now con- 
nects the Oroya with the mines of Cerro de Pasco, the point to 
which Meiggs had originally intended to push his project. These 
mines are at an elevation of more than 14,000 feet, and nowhere 
does the branch line connecting them with Oroya dip less than 
12,000 feet. These mines are now organized by American capital 
and bid fair to make their promoters rich. 

The total length of the Oroya Railroad is 138 miles. As I have 
said, the culminating altitude is 15,665 feet. This is at the tunnel 
bored through Mount Meiggs, the Tunnel del Paso de Galera, as 
it is called. The summit of Mount Meiggs is about two thousand 
feet above the bore, which makes it fall but a little short of the 
snow-line in this latitude — some twelve degrees south of the Equator. 

The ascent of the Andes on the Oroya, properly speaking, does 
not begin until the valley of the Rimac is crossed and the panting 
locomotive strikes the lower foothills of the Cordilleras. Onward, 
there is a steady climb until the culmination at the Galera Tunnel, 
beyond which the descent begins on the other side of the mountains 
down the valley of the Jauja to Oroya. This descent is thirty-two 
miles and the "fall" thirty-five hundred feet. 

In many places the grade of the road is four per cent., or over 
210 feet to the mile. The track is the standard gauge of four feet 
eight and one-half inches. The rails weigh seventy pounds to the 
yard ; the rail-braces are also very heavy, especially at the curves 
and the V-shaped angles. The ties are of California redwood, three 
thousand of them to the mile. All the bridges, and there are many, 



ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 137 

are constructed of steel. The locomotives and cars are of North 
American manufacture, but they are by no means typical of the 
latest and best productions of the States, though the cars are com- 
fortable enough and the locomotives very well adapted to the de- 
mands of such a road. It cannot be expected that the latter would 
very well compare with the snorting monsters of steam and steel 
which whizz across the North American continent with lightning 
rapidity, almost annihilating time and space. They are more like 
the antiquated, wheezy, asthmatic mechanisms we formerly had on 
the "L" lines in New York City before electricity was installed as 
a motive power. However, as intimated, they answer very well the 
purpose in view. The modern monster engines would not be suit- 
able for climbing the mountains or going around the curves and 
"V's" and "S's" which make the ascent of the Oroya Railroad 
possible. 

There are seven switchbacks and sixty tunnels on the line. The 
switchback was a characteristic device of Meiggs in the construc- 
tion of the road. When he encountered a very stiff grade he 
zigzagged up the face of the mountain and when he came to a 
place where there was absolutely no room to turn or get around 
on a curve he backed out on a V-line and made his way upward 
until he could reverse on another "V" and go forward again. 
There are many of these "V's" in the course of the ascent, besides 
numerous curves up side valleys, and turnings and circumventings 
around protruding rocks and bosses, and many other kinds of in- 
genious and daring designs and contrivances to scale the precipitous 
mountain sides with bands of steel and iron and conquer the rugged 
obstacles of nature by the sheer force of human skill and daring. 
Of course the time consumed in stopping and switching at the 
zigzag and "V" turnings is very considerable ; the position of the 
engine has to be reversed from one end of the train to the other; 
but for these zigzags and "V's" the feat of accomplishing the con- 
struction would have been impossible. By means of them a train 
of cars is enabled to scale the steep face of the cliffs with almost 
as much ease, if not as quickly, as a squirrel goes up a tree. 

As much as possible the Oroya Railroad for a certain length 
follows the course of the river Rimac. In many places, however, 
it had to deviate from the direction of the rushing stream to 
accommodate itself to conditions and surmount obstacles, as when 
steep gradients or overhanging rocks were encountered, rendering 
curves, twistings, "V's" and "S's" imperative, as I have men- 



138 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

tioned above. In some instances, by daring devices, displaying the 
resourcefulness and genius of the builder, the course of the Rimac 
was made subservient to the line of the railway. At one place it 
was diverted and the waters caused to rush through a mountain 
tunnel ; the tracks were then laid on the bouldery bed over which 
the river had formerly surged. Near this is a great gorge into 
which two tunnels connected by the Puente Infiernillo (Bridge of 
Hell) open, and through which the Rimac rushes and roars with 
a thunderous violence the noise and fury of which is probably un- 
paralleled elsewhere. It reminds one, in intensified force, of some of 
the falls on the Upper Rhine, particularly that of the Via Mala. 

In one section the road branches away from the Rimac and 
follows the course of the Rio Blanca, which it crosses four times 
by wonderful feats of engineering skill, and then returns to the 
Rimac by crossing Capa Puente at an altitude of 11,638 feet above 
the sea. When the road emerges from the Galera Tunnel, under 
Mount Meiggs on the Eastern side of the Andean watershed, it 
follows the Rio Yauli to Oroya. 

When we take the altitude of the Oroya into consideration we 
find that it almost dwarfs by comparison the boasted accomplish- 
ments of railroad engineering in the United States, and be it said, 
the United States in this kind of daring enterprise is by far ahead 
of anything as yet done in Europe. 

The narrow gauge over Marshall's Pass in Colorado climbs to 
the 12,000-foot level, but there is no abrupt, no steep gradient as in 
the case of the Oroya. The ascent to the Pass is long and gradual, 
leading up from the Mississippi to the Great Divide ; there is no stiff 
mountain climbing whatever, the traveler being almost unconscious 
that he is on other than a level stretch all the way. 

Not alone is the Oroya the highest railroad in the world ; it 
is the only one which lifts its passengers to such breathless heights 
in so short a time. You start after breakfast at sea-level, before 
dinner-time you are above the clouds, and long before the sun dips 
behind the meridian you are at an altitude higher than the summit 
of Mont Blanc. 

We started from Lima about 7 o'clock in the morning. As we 
passed inland through the Rimac Valley, the mists that generally 
hang over the place in the early hours began gradually to clear 
away and we saw terraced fields, rich in crops and vegetation, 
stretching away in all directions. These fields are made fertile by 
artificial irrigation. There are plantations of sugar-cane, cotton and 




ANDEAN PLATEAU. EN ROUTE TO CUZCO 




FOOTHILLS OF THE ANDES FROM MOLLENDO 



ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 141 

corn fenced in by low walls of mud and adobe, and also sections 
devoted to the cultivation of many kinds of tropical fruits, pleasing 
orchards, locally known as huertas, and fields of vegetables. Here 
and there we could see the roofs of an hacienda showing above the 
green foliage. Farther on the signs of cultivation and care and 
human endeavor became less and less until they vanished altogether, 
and neglected fields of wild growths, abandoned terraces and broken 
watercourses met the view. The blackened sites of ruined villages, 
too, told the tale eloquent of the white man's conquest, a tale of 
pillage and rapine, robbery and murder. What a commentary in- 
deed on so-called modern civilization, that it wiped out the glories 
and splendors of Incan development and progress and left these 
villages and farms and fields and woods desolate, wasted, dumb 
witnesses to heaven of man's inhumanity to man and the Caucasian 
mania for gold ! Here was once a dense population which lived 
and toiled and throve and was happy in its own way before the 
despoiling feet of the invader desecrated the soil, which now, alas ! 
cormorants, pelicans and other wild creatures of mountain and plain 
have all to themselves. 

We steamed through this tract of a past life and prosperity and 
approached the first foothills of the Andes. They loomed up before 
us bleak, brown and bare, with scarcely a leaf of vegetation to 
relieve their forbidding aspect. All mist-nurtured verdure van- 
ished for a time, and only sunburnt rocks stood forth in grim and 
uninviting majesty. These were the beginning of the real ascent 
up the mighty Cordilleras of the South, a dull beginning indeed in 
its gray monotony with not a patch of green on these eternal hills 
facing the waters of the wide Pacific. Happily, however, it is not 
indicative of the rest of the journey. It is quite deceptive, inas- 
much as it leads the traveler to expect a like experience all along 
the line, and he is apt to think there is nothing in store for his vision 
but bulging, barren mountains, Sahara wastes, forbidding precipices 
and sun-scorched steppes. He is soon disillusioned. There is no 
generality at all about a trip on the Oroya. The scenery is as 
varied as it well can be. There is a kaleidoscopic series of views 
and sights from beginning to end, one different from another. 

As our locomotive toils, panting and puffing, up the incline like 
a wearied thing of life under a heavy strain, the base rocks are 
left behind and a thin fuzz of verdure comes creeping, as it were, 
out of the gray haze. We look away to the right and we see fringes 
of brown vegetation which we know are lichens and mosses and 



142 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

other weeds on the banks of the Rimac River. As we ascend higher 
and higher the sides of the mountains become greener and greener, 
until they display a foliage of growth seemingly as succulent and 
dense as that of a well-watered plain. Indeed the verdure is a sur- 
prise to us and a pleasant one. There are many kinds of flowers 
presenting a wealth of coloring as varied as the blends of the 
spectrum. To classify them would tax the lore of the most ex- 
perienced botanist or floriculturist. We are only able to differentiate 
a few of the familiar varieties, such as buttercups, sunflowers, moun- 
tain daisies, jonquils, nasturtiums, azaleas and wild geraniums. Here 
and there we can also distinguish clusters of the feathery algaroba 
and clumps of spiny cacti, many of the latter in beautiful flower. 

Higher still and once more we find the hand of man aiding Nature 
in her great laboratory. We see cultivated fields of corn ; true, they 
are but mere patches, terraced on the mountainside, like so many 
dark green slates on a slanting roof. Yet they refresh the eye and 
give evidence of life and activity. The angle of incline approaches 
so near the perpendicular in many cases, that one wonders how they 
are cultivated at all. The agriculturists here are the Indians. They 
terrace the little fields with stone ledges. While preparing and 
planting the ground they stand on the lower ledges and always 
work up. 

Indian huts, looking as if they were hanging from the very brows 
of the hills ready to topple down at any moment, are scattered 
around. They are one story in front, the side of the mountain 
serves as a back wall to which the roof extends back at a very acute 
angle. The roof is of corn-thatch and the outside wall is of sun- 
dried brick. In fact, they are little better than a shed, or what is 
generally called a "lean-to" in our own country. These Indians 
are wretchedly poor and live (exist is the better word) more like 
animals than human beings. They are dark-faced, sullen, unhappy- 
looking creatures, who seem to stand in mortal dread of strangers, 
wholly unlike in every way our conception of the Indian character. 

In our ascent so far we had passed several stations on the road, 
most of them Indian villages of adobe huts with thatched and 
corrugated iron roofs. Indians of the peon type, men and women, 
with hard, furrowed faces and slave-driven mien, came out and 
glared at us ; they excited a commingled feeling of disgust and pity. 
Their black eyes followed us with a stolid, unmeaning, yet uncanny 
glare as we lumbered onward and upward. 

The first place of any importance we passed was Chosica, about 




/ 



INDIANS AT HOME 




INDIAN TYPES, ANDEAN HIGHLANDS 



ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 145 

thirty-three miles from Lima and some twenty-eight hundred feet 
above the sea. Here we noticed the atmosphere becoming a little 
rarer and "felt that we were getting up in the world." 

A dozen miles more and we welcome the first switchback. This 
is at San Bartholome, a place which does but little honor to the poor 
saint for whom it is named. We had now reached the 5,000-foot 
mark and in somewhat of an exhilarated mood felt like congratula- 
ting ourselves that we had the hardihood and temerity to risk the 
trip. We were beginning to really feel the novelty and attraction 
of the situation. 

Onward, still onward and upward, we (I was almost saying) flew 
— but truth compels me to substitute crawled, wheezing and blowing 
and purring, — meaning the locomotive, — until we arrived at the Wart 
Water Bridge, i. e., the Verrugas, already mentioned, where such 
repairs had been made as enabled passengers to cross with a cer- 
tain degree of safety. Then more quickly through the Cuesta 
Blanca, past Surco and Challapa, up to the station at the little town 
of Matucana, seventy-seven hundred feet or more above sea-level, 
where a stop of half an hour was allowed for almuerzo and to take 
in the surroundings. 

Matucana is quite a pretentious little place here in the Andean 
Cordilleras, and puts on airs of its own, as if it were of some im- 
portance in the cosmos of the universe. It has, besides the station, 
a few streets, with several balconied houses, converging on a plaza, 
a public inn and a church which tries to emulate a cathedral and 
doubtless thinks itself every bit as entitled to the consideration not 
only of visitors from the surrounding home-country but from 
gringos as well. It is but a yellow mud edifice, with an Old World 
Spanish facade, yet it has a choir, music, incense and a loud pomp 
and pageantry of ritual and ceremony worthy of St. Peter's itself. 
It stands at one side of the little plaza of which the station occupies 
the other. On the remaining sides are adobe and bamboo houses 
frescoed and stuccoed and tricked out to deceive the eye as to their 
solidity. As already mentioned, some have balconies. 

Matucana is not a mere Indian village, it is also a health resort. 
much patronized by strangers for its fresh air and sunshine. One 
can observe many pretty sehoritas here with those flashy black eyes, 
raven hair and olive complexions that have given to the Peruvian 
women a merited fame for beauty the world over. They are free 
and easy in their bearing, without the slightest suspicion of im- 
modesty or unwomanliness, and have such an ingratiating way about 



146 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

them that they unconsciously captivate by their innate charms of 
manner and character. 

Some travelers get off at Matucana and remain for a day or so 
to accustom themselves to the rarefied condition of the atmosphere 
with a view to partially or wholly escaping the altitude fever 
known as sorroche, which may be defined as "sea-sickness of the 
mountains." 

They might as well continue the journey, for none, except those 
who are constantly inured to the mountain heights, or those whose 
constitutions by some provision of nature are immune to the effects 
of these high altitudes can hope to escape the sickness beyond the 
12,000-foot level. As well try to escape sea-sickness by paddling 
around the bay for a few days to inure one's self to the salt water 
before undertaking a voyage. When out amid the breakers of ^ld 
ocean you will find that your paddling has been in vain, that mat 
de mer will catch you just the same as if you never had got a 
smell of the sea until you stepped upon deck, except you are nature - 
proof against its attacks. A man may imbibe a certain quantity 
of alcoholic stimulants without showng visible effect, but if he in- 
dulges beyond a certain limit he will inevitably get intoxicated and 
suffer the consequences. An almost similar analogy applies to 
draughts of a rarefied atmosphere, with this exception, that no 
matter how accustomed a man may be to strong liquor there is a 
limit beyond which he cannot go, whereas, in the case of rarefied air, 
to a certain height, he can get so proof against it by constant 
experience that it becomes but an ordinary element in his nature. 
Engineers and guards and old-time travelers on the Oroya suffer 
little or no inconvenience from the great altitudes. 

Sorroche grips the susceptible passenger of the Oroya in unpleas- 
ant earnestness about the 12,000-foot level, as I have said. Of 
course, it may and often does attack him before this point is reached, 
or he may ward it off to even a higher altitude, all depending on his 
constitution and climatic experience. It is always an unwelcome 
visitor. For a great many it mars to a considerable degree the 
interest attached to climbing up these sublime heights of the Andes. 

Both in symptoms and effect, it is very similar to sea-sickness. 
It comes on with nausea, headache, then vertigo and sometimes 
fainting fits, followed by general lassitude and weakness, and on 
occasions the sight grows dim and hearing is considerably affected. 
In extreme cases blood flows from eyes, nose and lips. There is 
little danger of a fatal termination, however, unless the heart is 



ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 147 

weak; therefore, I would strongly advise any one with impaired 
heart action never to attempt the ascent. Weak-lunged persons 
are also in considerable danger, as they are liable to exhausting 
hemorrhages caused by lack of oxygen. Also those who have been 
addicted to excesses or an indulgence in "high" living should keep 
away. The sickness may last for days or it may pass away in a 
few hours. It is liable to return with severe intensity when a 
lower level is reached. 

When we came to the sorroche altitude our car presented much 
the same appearance as one sees on shipboard. Some were crouched 
into different kinds of positions, heads lolling on the backs of the 
seats and against the windows and sides of the car. Others had 
sunk down on the cushions, regardless, in their suffering, of ap- 
pearances. A few were even rolling on the floor. Many had shawls 
and ponchos wrapped around their heads, which is not a bad way 
of resisting the sickness. Those who were not yet attacked went 
around offering advice and assistance to the suffering, but the latter 
were not in amenable moods and both the advice and assistance 
were in most cases rejected. The comforters, alas! were soon at- 
tacked themselves, and, like doctors, they were then nowise dis- 
posed to partake of their own medicines. Many were not attacked, 
and these seemed to look on the trouble of others as a matter of 
course, unworthy of notice in fact. These were the hardened 
travelers who had been inured to the Andean heights. 

As for myself, when I felt the giddiness coming on I tried 
to ward it off with sweet chocolate, which I was advised before 
starting would be a sure preventive. There is no sure preventive. 
Many kinds of nostrums are put up to ward it off, but all fail. Just 
as in the case of sea-sickness, it can be lessened but not kept off. 
One of the best remedies is to keep one's person well covered, 
especially the head and neck, so that these parts may be thoroughly 
protected from the winds. The long boas of vicuna fur common 
to the country are excellent for this purpose, as they can be wound 
several times around the neck. The Indians knit woolen masks and 
head-coverings which also serve the same purpose almost as well. 
As little exercise as possible should be taken, the body, as far as 
possible, should be kept at rest. Alcohol in any form must be 
rigidly avoided, for it quickens the action of the heart in the rare 
air and therefore overworks it, which intensifies the sickness and is 
positively dangerous even to those with strong constitutions. Tobac- 
co must also be tabooed. 



148 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

In addition to sweet chocolate, a kind of shallot, called ajos, is 
recommended both to be eaten and rubbed upon the temples. As 
little food as possible should be taken into the system. 

As we have said, the virulence or intensity of the malady depends 
much upon the constitution and experience and the circumstances 
of the moment. There is no specific remedy ; what would be bene- 
ficial to one might be prejudicial to another. In this respect it is 
just the same as sea-sickness. 

If you are experienced in high climbing, to mountain altitudes and 
rarefied air, you need have no fear of sorroche. The Cholo Indians 
never feel the thin air at all, it has no effect upon them, they run 
up the brows of the precipices as nimble as the chamois up the Alps 
or the Pyrenees. The miners in these high regions of the Andes are 
never troubled either. 

The higher we ascended the air became fresher and the sunshine 
seemed brighter. We passed over spider-web bridges apparently 
hanging in air without supports. Those of us not too much under 
the influence of sorroche, or not under it at all, could realize the 
expressiveness of the scenery. Far below we could see here and 
there the white waters of the Rimac dashing and splashing around 
curves. So vast seemed the depths that without stretching the 
imagination one might fancy they belonged to another world we had 
left behind. Some of the highest mountains in Europe could be 
placed in these valleys and their summits not reach the altitude we 
had now gained. 

We passed Cacray and Chicla, almost 13,000 feet above Lima; 
the fields and the cultivation again disappeared and the region re- 
minded me somewhat of the country along the Yellowstone. Cara- 
vans of burros and llamas were passed carrying silver and copper 
ore to the smelting works at Casapalca, the chimneys of whose 
smelters soon came into view, standing up like silhouetted ghosts 
against the clear blue of the Andean sky. These great smelters of 
Casapalca were built by three Americans, Messrs. Backus & John- 
son, capitalists of Lima, and Captain H. Geyer, an American mining 
engineer. Great quantities of ore are brought here from the mines 
of Cerro de Pasco, which are about seventy miles distant. Llamas 
are generally used for transportation. Sometimes you can see as 
many as a hundred in a caravan. At Casapalca we saw several 
hundreds of the animals in a mud wall corral, where they had been 
driven after depositing their burdens. 

Beyond Casapalca peaks of rock came into view which seemed as 



Yi 






/ & ^ 




* 




« 






INDIAN IN PONCHO, CARRYING RUG 



149 



ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD 151 

if in some ancient time they had been smoothed by glacial ice. 
Patches of snow were lying in the shadows, and the air was so cold 
that we were glad enough to wrap our robes and boas and ponchos 
tightly around our bodies to keep out the penetrating atmosphere. 
Soon we were at the Galera, the culminating point of the Oroya and 
the very top of the cold, windswept Andean roof. The sensation 
of standing on the top of the Andes was certainly one worth ex- 
periencing, and one which certainly compensated us for the hazard- 
ous journey up the Oroya. We were a thousand feet higher than 
Pike's Peak, in fact higher than any mountain in the United States, 
with the exception of Mount McKinley in Alaska. Standing there 
on the very roof of the world, as it were, and gazing on the stupen- 
dous work of nature, those colossal mountain tops piercing the 
heavens with their snow-clad peaks, we realized how small, how 
weak and puny and insignificant is the greatest effort and work 
of man when put in comparison with that of the sublime Architect 
of the Universe. The scene awakened a lively faith in and deep 
reverence for that Great Being who "holds the world in the hollow 
of His hand." 

We had now realized our ambition to climb the Andes by way 
of the Oroya. We could get no higher; on the other side of the 
Galera it is a down grade to Oroya, a distance of a little over thirty 
miles. Then come the plateaus and snow valleys of the Andean 
treasure land. The mines of Cerro de Pasco lie across the Junin 
pampa where Bolivar gave a thrashing to the Spaniards, and a 
deserved one, away back in 1824. 

I was not sorry to see the smoky glimmer of the lamps in 
the little station of Oroya after the most remarkable railway journey 
I had ever undertaken, one which I shall remember until I am 
summoned to take a greater and more important journey to that 
bourne from whence no traveler returns to tell the tale of the 
Great Beyond. 



CHAPTER VII 
IN SOUTHERN PERU 

FROM LIMA TO AREQUIPA 

All too soon the time came for us to resume our journey to 
other places, and regretfully we had to say adios to the quaint old 
city of Lima, Pizarro's City of the Kings, now far from kingly 
but sitting rather like a dethroned queen by the waters of the 
Western sea, mourning the days that are gone, sighing for the 
glories of a glittering past that can never return. 

We steamed out of Callao harbor again on a southern course, the 
still waters spreading before us like a burnished plane of silver 
in the sunlight. Our next port was Pisco. This is a pretty town 
lying adjacent to a valley teeming with many kinds of vegetation, 
well flanked with a goodly arborage consisting of palms, pines, olives 
and other trees. The port leads out into an open bay sheltered by 
rocky islets ; it does a thriving business. The beach bends some- 
what in the form of a crescent, and lying off in the background we 
could see several smooth, circular hills. 

The soft, calm water looked very inviting and the place seemed 
adapted to bathing, but as sharks abound around these shores the 
element of danger deters one from taking a plunge. 

The town lies back about a mile or so from the port, with which 
it is connected by a mule tramway. It is a place of much commer- 
cial importance, the annual trade amounting to considerable over a 
million dollars. Probably Pisco is best known for the ardent liquor 
which bears its name. This distillation is a kind of brandy which, 
when pure, excels French cognac, but alas ! the art of adulteration 
has been learned here as in other places, and "pisco" is blended 
so often and mixed so much with deleterious compounds and in- 
gredients that it loses its individuality. When so adulterated both 
the taste and strength of the genuine article are lacking. There are 

152 



FROM LIMA TO AREQUIPA 153 

many vineyards around the place. The grapes, in their natural 
state, are delicious — in fact I think unrivaled by those of any other 
climate. As soon as we arrived in the harbor several venders came 
on board with luscious bunches, and I can truthfully say I never 
tasted elsewhere any of the fruit equal to what they offered, much 
less superior. Oranges were also for sale, large, tempting spheres 
of juiciness with a flavor extremely pleasant to the palate. An- 
other fruit, or rather vegetable, was the "pepino," which may be 
described as a sweet cucumber, cylindrical in form, tapering at the 
ends, and about four or five inches in length. It is of a yellowish- 
green color, and the pulp though quite solid is juicy and has an 
agreeable taste. 

The country around Pisco offers a wide variety of tropical fruits. 
Bananas grow in great profusion. Alligator pears or paltas, else- 
where mentioned, and one of the choicest products of the tropics, 
flourish here. Water-melons are particularly large and fine, out- 
classing those of Florida or Georgia. Indeed this part of the 
country is a land of remarkable fertility, the soil is exceptionally 
rich, but it is not sufficiently cultivated to bring forth its fullest 
measure. It easily could be made to afford a splendid source of in- 
come to the natives, as markets would very readily open for all 
its products. As it is, some enterprise is being shown in the right 
direction. Several influential parties have become wide awake to 
the possibility of obtaining great resources from the proper treat- 
ment of the land, and consequently a scheme of irrigation has been 
projected which it is hoped will bear good results. What are now 
arid places will be fitted probably for cultivation. All the plain 
which parallels the coast down to Tambo de Mora could be easily 
watered and so rendered prolific and made to blossom as the rose. 
There is little doubt that after the opening of the Panama Canal 
this locality will invite many settlers. The banana plantations can 
be made very profitable ; cocoa and coffee can also be produced 
in good quantities. 

There is a railroad between Pisco and lea, forty miles distant. It 
runs through a valley rich in tropical and temperate products, sn h 
as cotton, corn, alfalfa and sugar-cane. Several fine haciendas and 
splendid plantations add to the attractiveness of this section. 

Ten or twelve miles out from Pisco in a northwestern direction 
lie the celebrated Chincha Islands. We passed them at sunset, a 
time in which they presented a striking appearance in the glow 
of the fading light. From these islands is obtained the best guano. 



154 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

As most people are aware, guano is the excreta of fish-eating fowls, 
such as gulls, cormorants and penguins. Its value depends upon 
the amount of nitrogenous matter it contains. This matter, in hot 
and rainless places, is preserved by natural desiccation, whereas in 
damp or moist localities it is almost entirely decomposed and lost 
by vaporization. As the Chincha Islands are hot and almost rain- 
less, the guano retains a high percentage of nitrogen and is there- 
fore very valuable as a fertilizer. It is piled up to a depth of over 
one hundred and fifty feet on the islands, and the Peruvian Govern- 
ment makes many thousands of dollars in exporting it. A flotilla of 
vessels are employed in the trade, and the labor of loading them 
is cheap, as coolies and the poorest natives of the coast are employed 
for the work. Immense as is the quantity deposited yearly it is 
feared the supply will soon run short, so great is the demand. 
Countless numbers of birds were flying, hovering, circling, wheeling 
and diving above and around the islands, and as the day was about 
to close hundreds were seeking their roosts. Their quick move- 
ments, with the variegation of their plumages, made an unique and 
interesting effect, one not soon to be forgotten by the beholder. We 
watched them until the islands were far in our wake and the 
gorgeous tropic twilight came down, shutting out the view. 

During the next day not a tree or shrub or twig or anything of 
green foliage or appearance could be seen along the desolate looking 
sweep of shore. In fact the only thing that arrested our attention 
was a curiously shaped cross cut into a sloping rock of a cliff 
about two hundred feet in height. We were informed that this em- 
blematical reminder was carved many years ago to commemorate a 
religious agreement between the natives and the Indians, and that 
the place where it now attracts the attention of the sea-going tourist 
is the scene of annual religious solemnities which are attended by 
many of the faithful and devout from the surrounding country. 

At Mollendo, our next port of call, we found the landing rather 
a difficult one, owing to the southwesterly swell and strong cur- 
rent, but we were put ashore in good condition by the strong natives 
who engineered our little boat, which bobbed up and down between 
the heavy swells like a cork upon a stream. After the usual formali- 
ties of the customs, most wearisome and uninteresting, we repaired 
to the Hotel Ferrocarril, overlooking the harbor, the best in the 
place, which is saying little for the second best, not to speak of the 
worst. 

Probably there is no worst, as the one to which we were brought 




BIT OF MOLLENDO HARBOR 




CATHEDRAL, MOLLENDO 




/\ 



} 



A QUIET CHAT, AREOUIPA 







r^ a 



* : 



INDIANS AT A STATION. SPINNING 



FROM LIMA TO AREQUIPA 159 

seemed to defy competition in that direction. During the night I 
found out that whatever it lacked in some respects, it had an abun- 
dant supply of the genus Pulex, commonly called fleas. These fleas 
are not the parasites of the Old World (Pulex irritans), but the 
cat and dog variety (Pulex serraticeps) of these South American 
countries. They were certainly very active and agile and assiduously 
put to flight any somnolent tendency on the part of the guests. 

Mollendo is a very busy port, being second only to Callao in 
exports and imports, the total commerce averaging over $5,000,000 
annually. Tbe chief exports, which come from the interior, are 
alpaca and other wools, with some borax and minerals and a small 
quantity of coffee. The opening of the Canal is bound to have a 
big effect on the shipments, as they will then have the benefit of 
competitive ocean rates through the waterway. All the freight for 
Arequipa. Puno and La Paz de Ayacucho, the capital city of Bolivia, 
passes through Mollendo. The town is built upon rock which ex- 
tends into the sea at an elevation of about one hundred feet. It 
is not of much interest to the sight-seer, as there are no remarkable 
buildings or places to claim unusual attention. 

From Mollendo we took a train for Arequipa, about one hundred 
and seven miles distant. The Southern Railroad is in operation 
from Mollendo through Arequipa to Cuzco and Lake Titicaca, the 
highest navigated lake in the world. This railroad is likely to be 
extended and probably will connect with the Central or Oroya road, 
thus giving Lima connection with the ancient seat of the Inca dyn- 
asty. This Southern road is very interesting. For a stretch of fifteen 
miles or so out from Mollendo the track runs along the sea-beach 
and then enters a "quebrada," or deep ravine in the mountains, 
before climbing the steep ascent of the mighty Cordilleras. After 
passing through the ravine we gradually crept up through a region 
of rocks and sand probably upheaved in some great cataclysm of 
nature in ages past. The fine white sand is called kaolin and is 
shipped in large quantities to Europe to enter into the manufacture 
of costly china and other delicate pottery wares. There are also 
large quantities of borax here and there in this section. Between 
the hills are many beautiful well-watered valleys, which produce 
abundant crops of cotton and cane ; the latter presented a vivid 
green, the former appeared in dark tints. The cotton plant blossoms 
perennially and ripens about three months after the buds appear, 
and picking may be carried on during the whole course of the year. 
An hacienda need not be planted more than once in a generation. 



160 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

As we got higher, lava tracts appeared, and tough, wiry buffalo 
grass could be seen in bunches at intervals, diversifying somewhat 
the general monotony of the aspect. Still higher chaparral and 
cacti came into view, the latter being of the candelabra variety which 
spreads out in arms like a branched candlestick. 

At the little dusty stations en route many Indians, in bright colored 
ponchos, offered us chicha, a native drink made from fermented 
corn. This is a highly intoxicating beverage, which claims many 
victims among the natives. Fruits from the valleys were also offered 
ftr sale by native women, as well as large bunches of sugar-cane, 
which invited a number of purchasers. The stations are generally 
well built with adobe walls and roofs of corrugated iron. For the 
most part they are surrounded by neat little dwellings, the residences 
of the railroad employees, constructed in a measure after the man- 
ner and of the same materials as the station houses. At many of 
these halting stages were large piles of freight awaiting transporta- 
tion, and scores of the patient little burros, their large heads and 
spindle-shank legs eliciting much comment. 

We continued slowly up the mountainside in a now and then 
sinuous course, the track at some places forming curves and ser- 
pentines and horseshoes and at other places stretching out in 
straight reaches for short distances. However, we were making pro- 
gress and getting higher and higher. There is an average rise of 
about eight hundred feet between stations until Arequipa is reached, 
which is 7,500 feet above tide-water. Our rate of progress was very 
slow, five hours being required to make the journey from Mollendo 
to Cachendo, a lunch station 4,000 feet above sea-level. Here we 
had our first view of El Misti, a glittering snow-peak over 19,200 
feet in height. This is an active volcano. To its left towered Cha- 
chani, at a greater elevation, while to the right lay Pichu-Pichu, 
18,000 feet in altitude. Beyond these lies Coropimo, one of the cul- 
minating peaks of South America, 22,000 feet above the sea. 

After this the train entered a dreary region known as the pampas, 
a plateau of thirty or more miles in width and covered with volcanic 
sand and ashes. This plain reminded some of us of the barren 
stretches of Western Australia; there was not a sign of life or of a 
living thing; no hum of insect, no chirp of bird, no cry of animal, 
not a twig or leaf of grass or of any vegetation, nothing in fact to 
relieve the dread monotony which seemed to cling around it like a 
funeral pall. In truth it looked like a land where everything was 
dead. Scattered over it were boulders and lava, scoria and baked 




'CHICA" SELLERS 




MT. EL MISTI, FROM AkEQUIPA (19,200 FEET) 



161 




SAND CRESCENTS, DESERT OF ISLAY 




BLEAK FOOTHILLS OF THE ANDES 



FROM LIMA TO AREQUIPA 165 

clay, the results of volcanic upheaval. Yet there were signs that 
life had been here, the life that constructed this iron road up the 
mountains, for at intervals amid the desolation could be seen crosses 
to mark where lay the bones of unfortunate ones who had perished 
in the labor. 

This railway, like that of the Oroya, cost not alone a vast sum in 
money but exacted a heavy toll in human lives. Most of the work 
was done by peons and imported coolies. Though many of those 
who succumbed bowed before other emblems than that of the cross, 
the ones who reverenced the cross placed that insignia of Christian 
salvation above their bones. 

Passing over the waste of pampas called the Islay Desert what 
are known as the "medanos" appeared. These are crescent-shaped 
little hills of silica gleaming in white crystals and rise to a height of 
from ten to twenty feet at the center of the arc ; they look to be 
formed with exact mathematical precision. They are certainly 
wonderful looking little piles and are constantly shifting places, 
moving about ten feet in the course of a year, but strange to say, 
they never get mixed up with one another. Some were so close 
to each side of the track that gravel was heaped against them to 
prevent their moving over the rails and so obstructing passage. 

Approaching Arequipa the road again enters among great hills, 
and runs over mighty chasms caused by the sundering of huge rocks 
probably in prehistoric ages through volcanic action or some seismic 
convulsion of nature. Here the mind is impressed with a solemnity 
in face of the tremendous forces of material power which emphasize 
the weakness of the puny efforts of man and make him realize how 
insignificant he is after all, in the grand scheme of the universe. 

Arequipa, the capital of a department of the same name, is a 
city with a population of about 45,000. It is the commercial, ecclesi- 
astical and political capital of Southern Peru. It is an Old World 
place, antiquated and conservative in the extreme. It is said that 
the inhabitants can trace their blood farther back than those of 
any other town in all of South America. The purity of the at- 
mosphere of Arequipa is remarkable, the air seems clearer and the 
sky bluer than elsewhere ; the azure vault of heaven bending above 
it in its translucent beauty looked different from any I had ever 
seen. It is a favorite resort for consumptives and those affected 
with pulmonary troubles . The average annual temperature is 57 de- 
grees F., but water freezes in June and July, and the nights are ex- 
tremely chilly. Owing to favorable conditions in the atmosphere 



166 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Harvard University chose this place as the site of an observatory for 
mapping the stars and constellations of the Southern Hemisphere. 
For centuries it has been noted for institutions of learning. To its far- 
famed University come students from all parts of Peru and neigh- 
boring republics, and even some from the United States and Europe. 

Arequipa has been called by some tourists the Athens of the 
South and in certain respects it can justly lay claim to the title. 
Most of the streets are broad and the sewerage is open and facilitated 
by the slope from either side. The filth and offal are thrown into 
the open drains, yet sometimes in hot weather an offensive effluvia 
arise, which, however, are quickly borne away by the soft air cur- 
rents. 

The residences are substantial but primitive in character. Many 
of the houses are of red lava, so they do not need the hand of Art 
to add to their color or picturesqueness. Blue seems the dominant 
color in most of the houses and stores. The former are only one 
story, as a general rule, to safeguard against earthquakes, and the 
walls are exceptionally thick. As a rule, they are dark and gloomy, 
for there are few windows, the light and ventilation being obtained 
through the doors. The walls are sustained by immense buttresses 
of stone and adobe. There are several remarkable buildings. The 
Cathedral on one side of the Plaza of San Francisco is among the 
best specimens of ecclesiastical architecture on the Southern conti- 
nent. The main part is of modern workmanship, the old building 
having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1868. The new structure 
was consecrated in 1893. There are other churches of a mediaeval 
appearance, and therefore very picturesque at the present time. In 
the neighborhood of the Cathedral square are fine residences with 
spacious patios, projecting balconies and wide carriage entrances 
approached by spike-studded doors, recalling the days of Spanish 
rule which, I think, would interest any one with antiquarian 
tastes or fond of delving into the remarkable landmarks of the his- 
toric past. 

The market-place at Arequipa is exceptionally picturesque, dec- 
orated in gay colors to attract shoppers and the general crowd. 
Here Indians congregate in ponchos of varied hues, selling fruits 
and vegetables and nondescript wares and articles. Among their 
offerings are dried coca leaves,* which are chewed somewhat after 
the manner of the pressed and glucosed leaves of the tobacco plant 
in our own country. The place is thronged with women and children, 
and crying babies add an element of discordant noises to the scene. 

*Coca produces the useful but deadly drug, cocaine. The "coke" fiends of the 
underworld snuff the white powder which they call "snow" or "heaven dust." 
It gives pleasant dreams and a false courage, but its effects are deadly. 




BUSINESS STREET, AREOUIPA, SHOWING CATHEDRAL 




■ ■ ' ■■ ■:- - 



STREET AND CHURCH FACADE, AREQUIPA 



1CT 




A GROUP OP LLAMAS 




INDIANS IN PONCHOS, AREOUIPA 



169 



FROM LIMA TO AREQUIPA 171 

And we must not forget the donkeys and llamas, the burden-bearers 
of this wonderful southland. The donkey is an ubiquitous animal, 
but the llamas are indigenous to the soil. The llama has served the 
Indian in many ways and has been his chief reliance in times of the 
most pressing difficulties, when all other props were taken from 
him. It is an animal of the camel family, but it is much smaller 
than the camel and has no humps ; it also differs in the separation of 
the toes, having claws. In fact it is an animal with a camel's head, 
a sheep's body and the feet and legs of a deer. It is a proud 
little beast, carries its head high in the air and has altogether an 
independent look. It sometimes gets angry, when it will spit instead 
of bite, but its sputum is to be dreaded, as it has a very offensive 
odor. It is patient and docile and very sensitive to abuse. Indeed it 
is said tbat if a llama is harshly spoken to or the whip applied it 
will lie down and cry like a human creature and in extreme cases 
die of grief through wounded pride. It can carry a load of from 
seventy-five to one hundred pounds, but if its strength is too far 
taxed it sulks and refuses to move. Likewise it reserves the right to 
rest when it thinks it has proceeded far enough at a time. Like the 
camel of the Arabian desert it can go without food for many days 
and in this respect is most serviceable on long mountain trips when 
food is hard to be obtained. The camel has been called "the ship 
of the desert." The llama has an equal right to be styled "the freight 
train of the Andes." Truly the llama is a valuable beast and has 
done its part to promote the welfare of the country. The name of 
the animal is pronounced as if spelt y-a-m-a. It was the only 
beast of burden of the Incas, and to it is attributed the superiority 
of this dominant race in the past and their complete subjugation 
of the neighboring tribes. 

The alpaca, another animal of the same genus peculiar to this 
region, produces the finest wool in the world. Experiments have 
been tried to introduce it into other countries, but without success ; 
it will thrive nowhere else than here. 

A sort of gazelle named the vicuna, with long silken hair of a 
peculiar lustre, is also native to this region. Formerly its hair or 
wool was woven into royal robes and none but members of the 
imperial families was allowed to wear it. At present much of the 
alpaca wool from Arequipa is handled by American firms and 
shipped to New York and Boston for manufacture. 

In the district surrounding Arequipa are several local industries 
including cotton factories and flour mills. It is beginning, too, to 



172 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

lay claim to being the chief mining center for the region extending up 
as far as Lake Titicaca. The rubber industry is also coming to the 
front, and on the whole Arequipa and its neighborhood promises to 
be one of the chief commercial locations, an emporium of a world 
trade that will have a great influence in the New South in the 
years to come. 




CATHEDRAL AND PLAZA, AREQUIPA 




A BEAUTIFUL FACADE, AREQUIPA 



173 



CHAPTER VIII 



ON TO THE INCAN CAPITAL 



CUZCO OF THE PAST AND PRESENT 

We left Arequipa in the early morning and again began the ascent 
of the bare, bleak hills, by way of the Puno and Arequipa Railroad, 
which is probably the most expensive ever constructed — the Oroya 
not excepted — some $44,00C,000 having been spent in laying the 
tracks, a cost of approximately $135,000 for every mile, as the whole 
length of the road, including the branch line from Lake Titicaca, is 
only about three hundred and twenty-seven miles. 

Owing to the rarefied air, which became extremely cool, we were 
soon forced to put on our overcoats and huddle close to our seats' 
here one feels the breath from the mighty jaws of the towering 
Andes ; some of us began to feel a little giddy, the action of the heart 
began to beat quicker and a sickening sensation followed, such as 
an inexperienced person feels in a heavy sea in high weather. It 
was the dread sorroche ; again it had us in its grip. My head com- 
menced to ache and I experienced a painful throbbing at the temples, 
while objects on either side seemed to whirl around in giddy ing 
gyrations. I apprehended a nosebleed, but fortunately this did not 
occur. After a while nature asserted itself, the unpleasant feeling 
passed away and in a kind of way I became adapted to the sur- 
roundings. 

The mountains rising higher and higher looked at times as if 
hanging over the train as the cars laboringly crawled up the steep 
inclines. The sides of these mountains looked bare and uninviting 
and at this elevation seemed composed of alternate layers of rock and 
baked clay. There were cavities here and there, giving the idea 
that large masses had been torn out by some mighty force of nature. 

At intervals valleys presented themselves showing where the hands 

175 



176 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

of human labor had irrigated and cultivated them to bring forth 
the products of the soil, though not in a lavish abundance. We 
could see patches of barley, potatoes and quinua struggling to arrive 
at maturity about the scattered huts of the natives. Barley is grown 
here merely as a forage crop for the animals. The quinua is a 
plant perculiar to this region of the Andean highlands ; it somewhat 
resembles our dockweed, has red leaves which are eaten after the 
manner of spinach, and the white seeds when boiled in milk or 
water form a mush like our oatmeal ; this is said to be palatable and 
wholesome. It is one of the hardiest food grains in the world. 

At a higher elevation the soil improves on account of the mois- 
ture from the clouds that continually enwrap the mountainsides. 
The grass assumes a more vivid hue and looks a little more lus- 
cious for grazing purposes, but in many places there appeared noth- 
ing save sterility, seemingly no herbage whatever to sustain animal 
life. Yet we saw herds of cattle, flocks of llamas, vicunas and 
alpacas, apparently grazing on the bare soil. Some of the herds 
were in charge of Indian women wearing coarse blue skirts and with 
broad-leaved hats on their heads. There were a few huts of the 
herders in sight, rough structures, composed of coarse untrimmed 
stones to withstand the fury of the blasts which occasionally sweep 
with great violence through the gorges and across the plateaus. 
There were also some corrals, provided for the little cattle, but for 
the most part these hardy animals are compelled to take care of 
themselves as best they can. Water is here obtained from springs in 
the soil ; it is supposed there is an artesian basin in this neighbor- 
hood fed from Lake Titicaca. There was not a tree in sight. The 
people obtain their fuel from a remarkable plant called yareta, which 
is cauliflower-shaped and looks as if it grew into the ground instead 
of out of it. It is cut out and dried somewhat after the fashion of 
the peat from the bogs in the remote districts of Ireland. The drop- 
pings of the llama are also used for making fires. 

As we ascended we obtained some fine views of the peaks of El 
Misti and Ampato. The station of Sumbay is 13,400 feet above the 
sea. This is the depot for the famous silver mines of Cailloma, 
which are owned and operated by an English company. Large bags 
of high grade ore are brought here on the backs of llamas. On an 
average it pays $800 to the ton ; most of it is shipped to Liverpool. 
Some gold is also mined, and this is sent to the mint at Lima. 

At a height of about 13,500 feet the railway passes through im- 
mense chalk deposits, interspersed with outcroppings of lava. Then 




PATIO OF HOTEL RATTI, JULIACA, SHOWING AUTHO] 
ROOM 




INDIANS DINING, NATURE'S "KNIVES AND FORKS" 



177 



": 




NATIVE PORTERS, CUZCO 




SMALL INDIAN SHOP, CUZCO 



179 




WATER-JAR CARRIERS, CUZCO 




(UAINT SIGNS OF INDIAN SHOPS 



CITY OF THE INCAS 18 

comes hill upon hill of baked clay, giving evidence of great volcanic 
upheaval from interior heat. This is certainly a wonderland for the 
geologist, presenting specimens almost beyond the limit of classifica- 
tion. 

We crossed the Grand Divide at Crucero Alto, that is, High 
Cross at an elevation of 14,666 feet. There is a well-built station 
here, bearing on its front an inscription to inform the traveler that 
it is the highest point on the railway. Surrounding it is a collection 
of adobe huts; gazing from the doors of some of the hovels were 
Indian women, unkempt, unclean and wholly repellent ; filthy, almost 
nude children stood around, looking on the scene with their black 
shifting eyes. A number of railroad employees have their dwellings 
at this place, as it is the end of the division. 

This, the highest railway town in the world, experiencec ex- 
tremes in temperature. Water freezes every night in the year; very 
often the thermometer registers ten degrees below zero in the night, 
while at noonday the sun is so intensely hot as to blister the skin. 
The natives are inured to these changes. At night and in the cold 
mornings they wrap themselves in blankets, heavy coats and thick 
ponchos, but when the sun blazes down in meridian strength a 
change is quickly effected to thin shirts, light cotton waists and other 
flimsy garments. 

From Crucero Alto the track begins to descend and drops into 
the Lagunillas or lake region of the Cordilleras, where large sheets 
of cold, pure water appear, seemingly without inlet or outlet. These 
lakes keep the same level all the time, regardless of rain or drought. 
One of the largest lies adjacent to Saracocha. 

Those of us who were bound for Cuzco had to spend the night 
at Juliaca, the train going on to Puno on Lake Titicaca. We could 
not make a change to the branch line, which runs from Juliaca to 
Secuani on the way to Cuzco, until the following morning. The 
Hotel Ratti kept us for the night. This fonda has a rather sug- 
gestive name, which caused some of the facetiously inclined to make 
allusive comments after we had passed the night there. As for my- 
self I found that if the suggestive rodents were wanting they 
had fair representatives in the bug line, that were not at all back- 
ward in making the acquaintance of the guests. The building is 
a wooden one standing in a broad plaza. The cuisine was execrable. 
The food was simply impossible, potato soup being the chief feature; 
the rest of the menu comprised sardines and eggs of suspicious age. 

When we came out from this hostelry, we found the plaza full of 



184 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Indians, sitting in rows with their faces toward the sun, now climb- 
ing up the arch of the eastern sky. Be it noted that these Indians 
still retain many of the superstitions of their race ; they are nom- 
inally Catholics, but traces of the old sun-worship of Peru may still 
be observed in their manners, customs and rites. 

Passing through the crowd we made our way to the station. Our 
journey toward the Incan capital was resumed, that part of it still 
before us being anticipated with more or less gloomy foreboding 
after our late experiences. We found, however, that our apprehen- 
sions were magnified, for we had little of the discomforts or incon- 
veniences we had imagined were in store for us. 

The line from Juliaca to Secuani, the terminus of the railroad, 
runs along a valley by the side of the river Vilcamayu. The 
country looked fertile enough. There were fields of wheat and 
potatoes and other crops, and on the grass-lands herds of llamas 
and vicunas. 

We made a stop at Checacupe, a place the name of which 
might be changed by a little metathesis and phonetic arrange- 
ment into "chicken-coop," an appellation which, on the whole, 
would not be inappropriate in describing it. The air here became 
so brisk and cold that I actually shivered as I gazed away to 
the snow-clad peaks in the distance, some of them rising to a 
height of three and four miles above the level of the sea. 

We saw groups of Indians in curious make-up, the women 
wearing large felt hats with silk curtains at the sides and braids 
of gold lace on the top, a reminiscence of the barbaric splendor 
of the past. As a contrast to these there were several Indian 
beggars, repulsive in the extreme, little indeed like what one would 
expect in the descendants of the proud and wealthy Incas. 

As we descended, the climate became milder. Fruits from 
the beautiful valley of Cuzco could be bought at the stations ; 
these included oranges, pomegranates, paltas, and pineapples. 
Along the roads could be seen trains of the patient, burden- 
bearing llamas on their way to the capital. 

Secuani, where the railway ends, is a place of little interest, so 
we did not tarry long. From here the remainder of the journey, 
about ninety miles, was made by mule coach. Doubtless there 
will soon be a railroad all the way to Cuzco and then it may 
be marked as a place of some importance on the maps. At 
present the journey from Secuani would be very difficult, in 
fact, impossible, were it not for a road which was constructed 





*£+ 




OUICHUA WOMAN WITH BABY 



■Hi 




INCAN FOUNTAIN AND WATER-CARRIERS 




INCAN WALL, CUZCO 




'SEATS OF THE INCAS," OVERLOOKING SACSAHUAMAN 
FORTRESS 



187 



CITY OF THE INC AS 189 

by an Irishman named Hawley. This road in places passes 
through an open valley, winds around steep passes, or follows 
the defiles between the mountains. On the whole, this part of 
the route was uncomfortable and unpleasant, but every journey 
comes to an end. At length we reached a wide, open plain and 
looking toward the farther side of this level stretch we beheld a 
welcome sight. Rising on the spur of a hill, with its roofs and 
domes and spires and walls flashing in the sunlight, we saw the 
modern town which stands on the site of the ancient Cuzco — 
Cuzco of the Incas, the Imperial City, and the city sacred to 
the Indian world of South America. All the discomforts of the 
journey were discounted in the reality that we had arrived at 
this, the one-time capital and the Mecca of an historic race. 

Surely it is something to look upon this spot so replete with 
memories, so eloquent of the past, so rich in historic association. 
In the time of the Incas those who had visited Cuzco were 
regarded as far superior to those who had not. In our time the 
traveler who has visited Cuzco is allowed forgiveness if he boasts 
a little about the fact that he has been there. 

What memories it reveals, what a glamour of the Past hangs 
around it which the Present can never take away ! The sight 
of it captivates and thrills with the feeling one experiences when 
first entering in reality into a place which the pages of history 
have made familiar to all. 

Here I am tempted to delve into the Past and trace the march 
of the freebooting Spanish conquistador, from the coast over the 
mountains, down the valleys ; but I am not writing a history, 
and at any rate every schoolboy nowadays is more or less ac- 
quainted with the Conquest of Peru. Prescott, the blind his- 
torian, has told the story, and told it well. The main features, 
however, still bear recapitulation. 

When the Spaniards arrived in the sixteenth century the Inca 
dynasty had been flourishing for centuries. When it com- 
menced it is impossible to determine, for myth, legend, story and 
tradition have woven such a glamour of romance around Incan 
origin that no one can pick from beneath it any reliable details. 
The glamour also covered the entire country until indubitable evi- 
dence in the way of archaeological remains was unearthed to 
clear a good part of it away and throw light on the long-gone 
past. It is now 7 known that Peru had a very ancient civilization. 
I have referred to it in Chapter IV as antedating that of many 



190 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

of the oldest known lands of Biblical and historic fame. Hun- 
dreds, yea, thousands of years before Incan majesty reared its 
head above the walls of ancient Cuzco there was a race in Peru 
which had emerged from the darkness of barbaric ignorance into 
the white light of knowledge. The Chimus were very early in- 
habitants of the country, but even before them a people held 
sway whose origin must ever remain shrouded in the mist of 
the world's morning time. Several distinguished scientists and 
ethnologists believe that in prehistoric ages before the northern 
steppes of Asia were peopled a wave of Asiatic immigration 
rolled over the Pacific to the west coast of South America. Leg- 
end makes mention of a hero named Naymlop who commanded a 
fleet of rafts from "China to Peru." 

The beginning of the Incan era, ancient as it appears to us 
now, was recent in comparison with the first settlement of the 
country. Probably the dynasty had flourished more than five 
hundred years when the Spaniards swooped down on Peru. This 
would place the beginning some time in the eleventh century. 
Of course, the origin of the royal race is lost in legendary ob- 
scurity. There are several legends, each of which has its coun- 
terpart with variations in the folklore of other lands. According 
to the most popular, the earth had been dark for a long time 
when Inti, the Sun-god, rose from a rock in Lake Titicaca, and 
calling to him his children, Manco Capac and Mama Occlo. 
brother and sister, he gave them instructions to go forth and 
educate mankind. Manco and Mama, who had become man and 
wife, undertook the mission and appeared on the shores of Lake 
Titicaca, proclaiming themselves "Children of the Sun," and an- 
nouncing they had come to teach the savage Indians the arts and 
industries for which they would claim their allegiance in return. 
Mama was to teach the Indian women spinning and weaving, 
while Manco was to occupy himself in giving the men instruc- 
tions in agricultural pursuits and everything connected with the 
cultivation of the soil. They carried a disk of gold which was to 
determine the site of the place where they were to erect a temple 
wherein to worship their deity, and from which to rule their sub- 
jects. Wherever this golden emblem sank into the earth when 
cast from the hand would denote the spot of selection. 

It chanced that the wedge sank where Cuzco was afterward 
built. Thus did this place become the seat of the royal race and 
Manco Capaca the first Inca, with Mama-Occlo his "Coya," or 




A SPANISH DOORWAY, CUZCO 




TERRACE OF COLCOMPATA, BEHEADING STONE IN 
FOREGROUND 



191 




MAIN ENTRANCE, SACSAHUAMAN FORTRESS 




GENERAL VIEW OF SACSAHUAMAN 



193 




ANOTHER VIEW OF SACSAHUAMAN 




ONE OF THE SALIENTS, SACSAHUAMAN 



195 



CITY OF THE INCAS 197 

Queen. A great house, or Temple of the Sun, was built, the most 
costly, most gorgeous and most imposing building erected in 
the Western Hemisphere until that time. From traditions and 
the accounts handed down through the centuries, we learn that 
its splendors, its richness, its capacity were such as to baffle mod- 
ern description and much beyond the belief of the most credu- 
lous. It is said to have been twelve hundred feet square, with 
great high walls of exquisitely dressed stone, and with enclosed 
courts, gardens, shrines and various halls and great rooms for 
receptions, entertainments and religious ceremonies. Spanish 
authorities tell us that the cornices of the outside walls were of 
solid gold, and that the inside surfaces were lined with gold 
plate inscribed with the most artistic designs. The enclosed 
garden, 600 feet by 300 feet, was ornamented, we are informed, 
with figures of men, animals, birds, reptiles and insects in nat- 
ural size, fashioned out of the precious metal. 

Inside the Temple was a great golden image of the sun, a cir- 
cular face, set in emeralds and turquoises, and with representa- 
tions of rays of fire emanating from it. As the temple faced the 
East the first beams of the morning fell upon the image, causing 
it to shine and scintillate with a dazzling brilliancy. Until the 
Conquest the mummies of the dead Incas, wonderfully em- 
balmed, sat upon golden chairs placed on golden slabs facing 
the celestial representation ; these, when the spoilers came along, 
were taken away by the Indians and hidden where they could not 
be found by the looters. Needless to say the Spaniards made 
short work of stripping the Temple of its gold and ornaments 
and precious stones. The palaces of the Incas were also beauti- 
ful and immense buildings, laid out with an architectural genius 
that has called forth the envy of modern times. It is said that 
each Inca erected a new palace at Cuzco more beautiful and 
gorgeous than those of his predecessors. Volumes have been 
written about these palaces. Their ruins certainly testify to 
the skill of this people as master builders. The huge stones were 
so well cut and dressed and laid together so closely that after 
a lapse of four centuries the interstices between them can 
scarcely be detected. As in the case of the Pyramids, it is somewhat 
of a mystery how these cyclopean structures were erected at 
this time. Many of the immense blocks are more than twenty 
feet long and from five to eight feet thick. The mystery intensi- 
fies when it is taken into consideration that these massive stones 



198 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

had to be brought many miles from the quarries to Cuzco. 
With none of the machinery utilized by modern workmen at 
their command, how did the natives quarry these immense blocks 
and then transport them such a distance over the rough moun- 
tain trails? Parts of the Incan walls remain to-day as solid as 
when they were laid, reminding us of the adamantine stability 
which characterizes the foundations of Old Rome. Present- 
time explorers marvel at the colossal greatness of these walls 
and the skill displayed in their erection. 

In the palaces of the Incas, we are told, were golden thrones, 
golden chairs, golden ornaments, and even the pots and pans 
were made of the virgin ore. Indeed, if the accounts 
handed down are to be taken with any serious credibility, we are 
to conclude that the splendor and magnificence of the Inca dy- 
nasty must have outrivaled the grandeur and richness of Israel 
in the heyday of its glory. Even the boasted wealth of Babylon 
and Nineveh, Carthage and Damascus would have to take in- 
ferior rank. We of the present day, however, are inclined to be 
a little skeptical. We, take these descriptions, not as fabrications 
but as forgivable exaggerations, and reserve to ourselves the 
right to pass upon them in the light of our own credulity. 

That the Incas were possessed of great wealth, however, is 
certain, wealth that aroused the cupidity of that dark prince of 
pirates, Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish adventurer, and caused 
him and his companions to undergo the most awful difficulties and 
hardships to reach the El Dorado of which he had heard such 
extravagant tales. 

The glory and the greatness, the power and the prestige of 
the wonderful race ended when the dare-devil freebooter scaled 
the western slope of the Andes and swooped down upon the rich 
valley. He captured Atahualpa, the Incan emperor, whom he 
afterward butchered, and planted the banner of Old Castile upon 
the fortress of Cuzco. 

It is stated that Atahualpa when captured offered as a ransom 
such an enormous quantity of gold plate, jewels and ornaments 
that it was sufficient to fill a room 22 feet long, 17 feet wide and 
9 feet high, and that his brother offered twice as much. The first 
offer was accepted, but although the unfortunate Inca turned 
over to Pizarro a sum estimated by Prescott at $15,000,000, his 
life was finally taken by the Conqueror, who was really afraid 
to release him. 




MASSIVE STONE, SACSAHUAMAN, AUTHOR 



--■•i¥ 




CYCLOPEAN WALL, PALACE OF INCA ROCCA, CUZCO 



199 




VN; * 





INCAN WALL, SHOWING SNAKE ORNAMENT, CUZCO 




"LITTLE ROSITA," AT 12-SIDED STONE, CUZCO 



201 



CITY OF THE INCAS 205 

When Pizarro and his cavaliers reached the table-lands of 
Peru, lured on by the lust of gold and the fabulous stories they 
had heard of immense treasures in the keeping of the strange 
and wonderful race, they found an organized government and a 
much higher civilization than they imagined could exist in such 
an out-of-the-way and unknown land. As to Incan government 
and civilization let us here quote from Squier : "Under the In- 
cas," he writes, "there was a better government, better protection 
for life, and better facilities for the pursuit of happiness than 
have existed since the Spanish Conquest or do exist to-day. The 
material prosperity of the country was far in advance of what it 
now is. There were greater facilities in intercourse, a wider agri- 
culture, less pauperism and vice, and — shall I say it? — a purer and 
more useful religion." 

When Pizarro arrived Atahualpa was reigning over a terri- 
tory more than a million square miles in area, a territory which 
now take* in parts of Ecuador and Bolivia, as well as Peru. He 
ruled in kingly splendor, in a regal glory unparalleled perhaps 
since or before in the world's history, if we are to put faith in 
the accounts which have come down to us of the magnificence 
and wealth of the country at that time. Many a bloody quarrel 
the Spaniards had among themselves over his treasures, but it 
is not for me to touch upon the Conquest and its aftermath. 
Abler pens than mine have dealt with these subjects. The story 
at best is but a black and bloody one of ravished homes, of pil- 
lage, of loot, and of murder. 

The site of the Temple of the Sun is now occupied by the mon- 
astery of Santo Domingo, where may be seen a part of the wall 
which the Spaniards did not destroy in the time of Pizarro, 
in in us, of course, the gold and ornamentation. The masonry is 
of singular beauty, the stones smooth polished and laid together 
so skilfully that it is scarcely possible to detect where they 
join. 

The Garden of the Sun is now the monastery garden. At pres- 
ent the church, with its cloisters and grounds, covers a consider- 
able area. What a place this must have been in the time of 
Incan splendor, this Mecca of the race, this spring from which 
welled its civilization and religion ! 

The convent of Santa Catalina is now situated on what was 
the Accla-Huasi, or House of the Virgins of the Sun, where fifteen 
hundred maidens of the royal Inca blood were kept in strict se- 



206 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

elusion. It seems somewhat appropriate that the spot should at 
present be in possession of a cloistered sisterhood. 

In line with this convent, on the south side of Cathedral 
Square, is the Church of the Jesuits, once the palace of the Inca, 
Huayna Capac. The north facade is of red sandstone artistically 
arranged; the cloister occupies the site of the house in which 
Pizarro took up his residence. 

The Cathedral fronting on the square is on the ground where 
stood one of the great entertainment halls of the Incas, and the 
one in which the Spaniards encamped when they entered Cuzco. 
There were four of these halls in different locations, all of them 
of huge masonry, the ruins of which may be seen in great facades 
of black polished stone. The cathedral is a spacious building 
with two solid towers ; the altars are adorned with the usual gold 
and silver ornaments, candelabra and statuary which make these 
South American churches perfect treasure houses of ecclesiasti- 
cal furnishings. The communion rail is pointed out at which 
the freebooting Pizarro knelt to receive the sacrament after 
being absolved from his sins, probably by his brother in cruelty 
and craft, the oily Valverde. There is a picture of this monk 
in the sacristy dressed in his robes and vestments as the first 
bishop of Cuzco. Fray Vincente de Valverde was the evil spirit 
of the Conquest. As is well known, he was present at the as- 
sassination of Atahualpa and his followers, and encouraged the 
awful massacre. "I absolve you! I absolve you! On, on, Cas- 
tilians !" he roared, as Pizarro and his cut-throats fell upon the 
unsuspecting Inca and his band. Thousands perished in the fear- 
ful butchery of that terrible day, and to a great extent the monk, 
Valverde was responsible. 

The Fortress Hill, overlooking Cuzco, is called the Sacsahua- 
man. A steep and rocky zigzag trail leads up to this hill, on 
the brow of which stands a gigantic cross. The great walls 
which surrounded the fortress are broken down in many places, 
the stones having been removed to help build the Spanish 
churches. In some places these walls were eighteen feet thick, 
formed of massive rocks at the base. Probably in all the world 
there was no masonry so solid as this, or none so beautiful in 
the symmetrical regularity with which the stones were laid. 
Some authorities are of the opinion that the fortress walls were 
of pre-Incan time. 

From this hill splendid views are obtained of the town and the 




AUTHOR, PLAZA DEL CABILDO, CUZCO 




PLAZA AND MARKET, FROM CATHEDRAL STEPS, CUZCO 



307 




CATHEDRAL AND LA COMPANIA CHURCH, MAIN PLAZA, 
CUZCO 




I 



JESUIT CHURCH AND UNIVERSITY, CUZCO 




SANTO DOMINGO CHURCH, SITE OF SUN TEMPLE, CUZCO 




CLOISTERS OF SANTO DOMINGO CHURCH 



an 




CORNER CROSS NEAR SANTO DOMINGO CHURCH, CUZCO 




MARKET SCENE BEFORE CATHEDRAL, CUZCO 



213 



CITY OF THE INCAS 215 

valley lying beyond, as well as of the mountains. Standing on 
this mighty landmark of the Past it was delightful to hear the 
reverberations of the church bells floating out on the clear rare- 
fied air. To me their brazen music, softened by distance and the 
thin atmosphere, sounded like the tremolo of celestial instruments 
attuned to a heavenly harmony. "Father Prout"* thought the 
bells of Shandon the sweetest in the world, and he immortalized 
them in undying verse. Were I a poet I would choose the bells 
of Cuzco for a theme. I have "heard bells chimin', full many a 
clime in," I have heard their notes pealing from the gorgeous 
turrets and towers of the famed Cathedrals of Europe, I have 
listened to their mellow tones in Mohammedan lands, when the 
voice of the Muezzin called the faithful to prayer as the sun 
rolled his golden wheel down the arch of the west, and I have 
stood on the sun-baked sands of India captured in spirit by the 
melodious sounds rolling and reverberating and echoing like the 
discharge of artillery on the still calm air of the sultry evening. 
I have heard "tintinnabulations" north, south, east and west, but 
never have I heard such sounds as those which came to my ears 
while standing on the fortress of Sacsahuaman. Their notes 
thrilled my soul, ravished my ears, entranced my senses with a 
music that truly might be called divine. How I wished those 
bells could have spoken, that their tones might be interpreted 
in the living language of the present ! What tales they could 
tell, what memories evoke, what secrets unfold, what a history 
reveal, — sad, sinful, glad, glorious, pathetic, pitiful, sorrowful, 
sublime ! 

At any rate, they recalled memories of other days. In fact, 
everything here recalls memories. The ghosts of the past will 
not down, we cannot shake them, they start up before us at 
every turn in this historic land. Try as one may, while in Cuzco 
he cannot forget the past, his thoughts go back in spite of him- 
self. In this respect it resembles Rome; we know we are stand- 
ing on historic ground, and imagination calls up the by-gone to 
such a degree that we overlook, in fact, ignore the present. 

What a panorama presented itself as we looked toward the town ! 
There were the red-tiled roofs rising against the background of 
the green, sloping, dreamy foothills, reminding one of some en- 
chanted scene from a world of fantastic visions. And the trails 

*Rev. Francis Mahony, Cork, Ireland, author of "The Bells of Shandon" 
and other beautiful poems. 



216 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

leading this way and that way, in places hiding themselves from 
sight, to appear again in sinuous windings, creeping around the 
hills and up the steep inclines, silently called to mind the van- 
ished days when probably they were pressed by the feet of Incan 
hordes, rushing from the terrors that surrounded them, for 
through' here extended the "Inca Highway" leading to Quito, 

The sights that the fortress afforded and the memories they 
called forth, surely compensated us for the weary climb over 
rough roads we had to undergo before reaching the summit. 

Though Peru was a land rich beyond comparison in gold and 
silver, precious stones and other rare ornaments, money was not 
in circulation among the Indians, they did not use anything as a 
ratio of value, or a barter of exchange. Neither did they know 
the art of writing, not even any kind of hieroglyphics being used 
as a means of communication. I remember seeing in the museum 
at Lima a few quipus or knotted fringes of various colors used 
in counting. They had prayer-sticks which they employed in 
their sun-worship. They had a soul for music and had many 
instruments upon which they played, including reed-pipes, flutes, 
drums, bells, rattles and cymbals. 

Besides architecture they were skilled in other arts, especially 
in weaving, which they highly developed ; they constructed im- 
plements with which they turned out very intricate and beautiful 
work in the w T ay of colored mats, shawls, ponchos and fancy 
cloths. The fine wool of the vicuna offered them a good material. 
Even modern artists copy the designs of the ponchos worn by 
the Inca Indians. 

Their descendants still weave their own garments, but they 
are not nearly so adept at the art as were their progenitors. 
Along the waysides you can see men and women spinning as 
they walk, using coarse needles and crude frames for the work. 
They are very fond of gaudy colors which they obtain by the use 
of aniline dyes. 

The modern Cuzco appeals strongly to the visitor. ETere one 
sees the life of the country in its varied aspects, especially in and 
around the old Plaza where the market is held. I have never 
seen a duplicate of this place anywhere else. It is peculiarly in- 
dicative of the manners, customs and callings of the natives of 
to-day. Here were Indian women coming and going, carrying 
fruits, in gay colored blankets upon their shoulders. Some, when 
they came into the market, squatted upon the ground and spread 




--_:•' 



LA MERCED CHURCH FROM HOTEL DEL COMMERCIO, 
CUZCO 




COURT OF LA MERCED MONASTERY 




ARCADE AND BALCONIES. MAIN SQUARE, CUZCO 




PICTURESQUE SPANISH GATE, CUZCO 




A PICTURESQUE PATIO, CUZCO 




; lI^j: 



IN FRONT OF HOTEL DEL COMMERCIO 



CITY OF THE INCAS 223 

out their wares before them on old shawls, selling them by the 
piece or pile. It was a lively crowd. The men talking and 
laughing, bargaining and selling seemed to be in the best of spir- 
its, without a care in the world. Their gaudy colored ponchos 
against the surrounding arcades lent a charm and brightened up 
the scene. The Ouichua language, the soft native tongue of the 
Cholos, the half-caste people, sounded pleasing and euphonious. 
Though accustomed all their lives to hearing Spanish, they do 
not speak it, so we had some difficulty in making them under- 
stand us when we addressed them in that language. As we 
walked around we noticed piles of what looked like pink and 
white marbles. These were frozen potatoes called Chuno, a fa- 
vorite dish of the natives and considered a delicatessen. There 
were many other kinds of vegetables, and though the town is 
situated two miles above sea-level the market is generally filled 
with tropical and semi-tropical fruits, from the Santa Anna and 
other fertile valleys in the lowlands. Among the many varieties 
of fruits on sale we noticed fine large oranges, fresh pineapples, 
succulent paltas, fat figs, luscious pomegranates, yellowish sapo- 
tas and cherimozas. 

The ladies of the town come early to buy the day's provisions. 
They are handsome senoras for the most part, and very well 
dressed in long trailing skirts, and with their heads and shoulders 
draped in black manias. They are of Spanish blood, but many 
have an Indian strain which shows in their dark eyes, black hair 
and olive faces. Nearly all speak the Ouichua language, learn- 
ing it from servants, so as to be able to converse with the natives 
and do their own marketing. Each of them is followed by an 
attendant with a large basket to carry home the purchases. 

Babies in the market are almost as numerous as the fruits, 
crying and crawling in and out among the wares or blinkingly 
looking out with curious eyes from the folds of old ponchos to 
see what their mothers are doing. I do not know whether babies 
are sold and bought — I suppose not — but it seemed to me that from 
among so many a few could be readily spared and never missed. 

I have mentioned a few of the churches of Cuzco. Most of 
the other buildings are interesting from many standpoints. The 
style of architecture is quaint in nearly all. There are over- 
hanging balconies which the Spaniards patterned after their na- 
tive Castile. Some of the houses have immense courts and great 
front doors almost like gates to a large city. Here and there are 



224 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

street shrines, for Cuzco has many fiesta days, when the church 
turns out her processions with great pomp and ceremony. But 
as I have elsewhere hinted, it is very doubtful if Christianity 
has taken a deep hold on these children of the Andean valleys, 
whether the Cross influences their lives and actions as much as 
the worship of the sun did their ancestors. 

During my stay in Cuzco I put up at the Hotel del Com- 
ercio, the Commercial Hotel, which name is rather superfluous, 
as it is the only one in the place, commercial or otherwise. It 
is a big caravanserai, formerly a monastery, and has a large 
courtyard surrounded by arched stone balconies. The rooms, 
which are very well furnished, open on these balconies and so 
the ventilation is good. The accommodation was also very good. 
Early in the morning a Moso brought up a dish of chocolate 
and bread to my room. This early meal is known as desayuno. 
The chocolate, which is rich and sweet, is made from native 
cacao. Breakfast, called almnerzo, was served at half past eleven 
and dinner, or comida, at six. The eatables were the usual dishes 
of the country and were very well cooked and palatable. 

To-day Cuzco is but the shadow of its former greatness. In 
the time of the Incas it had a population of between two hundred 
and three hundred thousand. At the present time there are not 
more than twenty thousand inhabitants. Despite the fact that it 
is one of the highest towns in the world, it is very unsanitary. 
The Indians are so filthy, lead such unclean lives and live so 
wretchedly, disregarding all the laws of hygiene, that they would 
die by the hundreds were it not for the high altitude of the place 
and the breezes from the mountains which carry away the miasma 
and bacteria. 

Rather reluctantly we left this old place with its haunting 
memories and turned to other scenes. 




STRANGE COMPANIONS, CUZCO 




AGAIN IN COMPANY, CUZCO 




LLAMAS IN MAIN SQUARE, CUZCO 



r 




GETTING READY FOR MARKET, CUZCO 



237 



CHAPTER IX 
SAILING ABOVE THE CLOUDS 

LAKE TITICACA, HIGHEST NAVIGABLE WATER IN THE WORLD 

A last look backward until Old Cuzco faded into the distance 
of space and we could no longer see even its outlines against 
the clear background of the morning sky. The great fortress 
of Sacsahuaman gradually disappeared from view like a shift- 
ing slide in some phantasmagoria of wonders that had revealed 
but a passing glimpse of its fairyland of scenery to our admiring 
gaze. 

Though they passed from actual vision these reminders of an 
historic past were still present to the imagination and never can 
they be obliterated from the retina of memory. They follow me, 
and turn where I may, the eyes of the mind rest upon their 
visionary forms, while recollections come back of the realities 
they represent and the interest they inspired while looking upon 
them. 

From Cuzco we returned to Juliaca, where we changed to a 
train that carried us to Puno, a small town on the shore of Lake 
Titicaca and the terminus of the railroad. Here is revealed the 
mighty plateau of Titicaca, upheld between two of the Andean 
ranges at a height of more than 12,000 feet above the level of 
the sea and from which can be viewed at wonderful advantage 
the grandeur and sublimity of the towering Andes. Probably 
at this place the great mountains are seen with better effect than 
at any other point in their four thousand miles of range. The 
scenes on every side were strikingly impressive, forcibly bring- 
ing home to us the insignificance of mortals and their weak and 
puny efforts in face of the overpowering creations nature here 
presents from her titanic workshop. 

229 



230 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Think of peaks piercing the clouds at four miles above the sea, 
reflecting the lights and tints of the brilliant sky that bends above 
the waters of Titicaca, glimmering in the shimmering beauties 
of lake and table-land, throwing off an iridescent radiance in the 
glow of the morning light and the wane of the setting sun, and 
you can conjure up an imperfect picture of this region which 
seems at points to kiss the heavens in its embrace, as if held 
up by some enchanted aerial edifice, reaching up from earth to 
sky. The great finger of Sorata, the third highest peak on the 
globe, over 23,000 feet in altitude, pointed its snowy index to the 
skies like a signal-post of the gods indicating the way from 
earth to heaven. 

Puno at times is very cold, the icy winds sweeping down from 
the mountain-peaks and snowcaps with biting breath, penetrat- 
ing the thickest clothing and causing a shiver to run through 
the bodily frame, though the sun may be riding high in the 
heavens. The place has a Spanish air about it of mediaeval time 
and looks as if it had but little interest in the present, though a 
considerable trade is carried on through it, especially in wool 
and ores. In fact, most of the freight from Bolivia is sent over 
the lake to Puno, thence down the railroad to the port of Mol- 
lendo. 

A little steamboat, the Coya, native word for queen, was wait- 
ing to take us across the famous lake, on our way to La Paz, 
the capital of Bolivia. This steamboat, as well as several others 
on the lake, was not of home construction. The sections were 
made in Scotland, on the banks of the Clyde, shipped to Mollendo 
and brought over the Andes on mule-back to Puno, where they 
were put together for navigable service on Lake Titicaca. 

Here the reader may be informed that the inter-island boats 
on Lake Titicaca are not steam-propelled. They are curious 
contrivances known as balsas, and have a remote origin, older 
than history itself. They antedate the Incas, who used them just 
as their descendants use them to-day, for transportation from 
shore to island, and from island to island, carrying freight of all 
kinds. These crafts are basket-like in shape, and are composed 
of a kind of reed, obtained from a lake weed, resembling barley 
straw ; the reeds are tied together in bunches and bound together 
after the fashion of a catamaran. The body is three or four feet 
thick and floats with a light buoyancy so that several tons of 
freight can be easily carried in the rush-like contrivances. The 



ACROSS LAKE TITICACA 233 

sails are also composed of fibers or reeds, and catch the wind 
readily to speed the boat along. Sometimes the sails are want- 
ing, in which case the Indians force the big baskets through 
the water by means of oars as in an ordinary row-boat; lacking 
oars, long poles are used for propulsion. Balsas are also much 
in favor along the coast, for which service the bodies of the floats 
are generally made up of porous timber instead of reeds. The 
Titicaca balsas do not last long, three or four months' wear 
rendering them water-soaked and unfit for further service. 

As we embarked from Puno on the Coya, the morning air was 
cool but pleasant, and so rarefied and clear that we could see for 
several miles. The clouds rose up from the shores of the lake 
like wings of angels from the forms they had been guarding 
during the night, and as the sun came out in his regal glory it 
seemed as if a curtain had been uplifted from a corner of heaven 
revealing the beauties that had been concealed. 

As is fairly well known, Lake Titicaca is the highest water 
sheet in the world which is navigated by steam. The grandeur 
of its waters and surroundings, with the legends which cling to 
them, combine to make it one of the most interesting of places 
to the traveler and tourist. 

There are many beautiful islands around which tradition 
flings its mantle of story. The Island of Titicaca lies a mile or 
so from the shore and is claimed as the site of the oldest civili- 
zation in America. It was on the rock of this island that Manco 
Capac and Mama Occlo, the mysterious founders of the Inca 
Dynasty, are said to have received their instructions from Inti, 
the sun-god, regarded by his devotees as the celestial father of 
all living creatures. When he deemed the time ripe for the 
true education and enlightenment of mankind he sent these two 
divine teachers to expound the laws of correct living to the peo- 
ple and establish a government of moral order as well as to ini- 
tiate them into the science of tilling the soil and to give them 
knowledge of the arts whereby to utilize the products which the 
soil produced. 

In this legend of Manco Capac and Mama Occlo we can 
easily trace an analogy to the sun myths of the old Greek and 
Aryan sources. It is also in keeping with the cosmogony of the 
race. The different peoples of the earth have each claimed a 
founder of their religion enshrouded more or less in mystic ori- 
gin. The Norsemen had their Thor, the Arabians their Mahomet, 



234 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

the Persians their Zoroaster, the Hindus their Buddha, the Chi- 
nese their Confucius, and the old Romans their Romulus and 
Remus. The followers of these believed in the divine attributes 
of the beings they worshiped — their gods, as some are pleased 
to call them. 

If we are inclined to be skeptical and treat their religions as so 
many superstitions we are confronted with our Christ, whom 
Eastern peoples also believe enshrined in mystery; if these do not 
regard the Saviour of the Christians as mythical, at best they 
look upon him as but of human origin and simply as one of the 
great human teachers of the world. 

Whether Manco Capac and his sister-wife were mythical or 
real concerns us little to-day. Their story had its origin in either 
case on the island of Titicaca, and this adds an interest to the 
place and makes it a source of attraction for the Western civili- 
zation and enlightenment of our time. 

For several centuries the ruins of the palaces and temples 
which covered the sacred place have afforded material for the 
investigation of savants and archaeologists. Most of the stones 
of the ancient buildings have been carried away for the erection 
of houses on the mainland. If we are to believe the reports 
of the chroniclers who accompanied Pizarro, the palaces of Ti- 
ticaca, like those of Cuzco, were extensive and sumptuous to a 
high degree. They were built of great carved stones laid with 
the skill and architectural genius which characterize all the 
buildings of the Incas. When the Spaniards came upon them 
they were filled with accumulations of gold, both for ornamental 
and useful purposes. The walls were covered with beaten sheets 
of the precious metal, and the altars and idols were loaded with 
vessels and ornaments hammered out of the pure ore into 
forms of great artistic beauty. 

The invaders left the edifices roofless and dismantled and 
carried away millions of dollars' worth of treasures. Among 
the ornaments seized by the greedy freebooters were life-size stat- 
ues in gold of birds and animals, and also golden trees, baskets 
and candelabra of excellent workmanship. The ruins of the royal 
baths can still be traced ; they were carved out of marble with 
floors of ornamental stones set in the hardest cement ; the water 
was received through the mouths of golden animals and the bills 
of golden birds. 

At present the island of Titicaca is inhabited by about five or 



ACROSS LAKE TITICACA 237 

six hundred Indians, who live in rude mud huts and who are 
barely able to wrest a subsistence from the soil by cultivating 
little patches of wheat, barley and potatoes. 

Coati is another island which claims attention. It is about six 
miles distant from Titicaca and is much smaller. At present it 
is merely a small sheep farm. Coal has lately been discovered 
upon it, but it is of an inferior quality. This little patch of earth 
was famous as being sacred to the Moon, the consort of the Sun 
in Indian worship. Here, centuries ago, the Virgins of the Moon 
were immured. There are ruins of chapels and cells, and, as on 
Titicaca Island, the baths are easily traced in the outlines of their 
ruins. The place was one of the centers of general worship, and 
a better one could not have been selected for the purpose. It 
was the shrine of Inti, where he devoted himself to his spouse, 
the Queen Moon. Regularly laid terraces cover the whole island, 
stretching in curves around the concave coast ; from these 
terraces a splendid view of the lake can be had, its pale blue, 
glossy surface extending away to the East, where the snowfields 
and glaciers, piled in fantastic confusion, rise out of the calm 
waters and rivet the gaze with their diversity of arrangement. 

Great masses of clouds above the peak of Mount Sorata ap- 
peared roseate in the light of the fading sun, gilding the waters 
into shimmering loveliness, which shone like scintillating cloth 
of silk in the slanting beams, a perfect panorama of multi-colored 
spendor. 

The other islands are but small upheavals above the water, 
their crests rising above the surface like fairy castles on ultra- 
marine foundations. Little plots of barley, wheat, potatoes and 
quinua were being cultivated on all and we could see the natives 
with rude hoes performing their tillage operations on the minia- 
ture spaces scarcely larger than so many back yards in our cities 
and towns. 

As we glide over the waters of the lake the legends and tra- 
ditions of the past come to us, but present realities crowd them 
out and we busy ourselves with the environment on every side. 
What a sensation it is to be sailing above the clouds — sailing on 
water at an altitude which the aeronaut would not dare to at- 
tempt from the level of the coast ! It thrills, it captivates, it en- 
raptures, and we feel as if we could forget the rest of the world 
we had left behind on this excursion between the mountain-tops 
of earth's greatest range. The water is of a dark blue, which re- 



UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 238 

fleets the sunlight in an opalescent splendor and appeals raar- 
velously to the esthetic and artistic taste. On a bright day, 
the shores of the lake are peculiarly attractive. The fresh vege- 
tation of dark livid green contrasts well with the red soil belts 
and imparts a vivid hue to the surrounding hills, while the tre- 
mendous snow-crowned peaks of Sorata and Illimani, rising some 
ten thousand feet higher than the surface of the lake, appear as 
if guarding the ancient possessions of the Incas with rock-bound 
barriers that no power can overcome. 

As we looked toward the south, when the short tropical twi- 
light gave place to the majestic approach of the calm and star- 
lit night, we could see hanging above the dim outline of the Cor- 
dilleras the shimmering stars of the Southern Cross. Those scintil- 
lating specks in the illimitable field of space we knew were hanging 
almost in the zenith over our English-speaking brethren in the great 
island continent of Australia. 

Lake Titicaca is about 12,500 feet above sea-level, and in 
shape is long and irregular. It is said to be 120 miles in length 
by 57 in breadth, and to have an area of 5,000 square miles, but in 
truth it has never been thoroughly mapped, and these figures are 
but conjectures. The shores are so indented and their topo- 
graphy so complicated that it would require many months sail- 
ing around them to make a complete chart. In places it is very 
deep, soundings having been taken where the plummet line did 
not reach bottom at a thousand feet. Indeed, it is thought to be 
the deepest lake in the world. It has no outlet to the sea, but 
is drained by the river Desaguadero, which flows into another 
lake called Poopo, that has no known outlet. The many little 
rivulets formed by glaciers make up its source. 

There is a great commerce over Lake Titicaca. Consider- 
ably more than a million dollars worth of imports go over it an- 
nually into Bolivia and about half a million dollars worth in 
exports are sent across it from the same republic. Much of the 
freight is carried from and to the shores of the lake on the 
backs of the ever-faithful llamas. 

At the eastern end of the lake there is only a narrow channel 
betwen the peninsulas of Copocavana and San Pedro, so that 
the traveler has to pass through the little strait of Tiquina, where 
he loses sight of the great expanse of Titicaca and finds himself 
in a small lake at its southern end. To cross this required sev- 
eral hours, at the end of which we entered the little artificial har- 



ACROSS LAKE TITICACA 241 

bor of Quaqui on the Bolivian side, where we had customs to 
contend with again, as we were coming- from one state to an- 
other. 

A tiresome and uninteresting ride of about four hours brought 
us to the wonderful city of La Paz de Ayacucho, the seat of 
government of the Mountain Republic. 



CHAPTER X 
IN WONDERFUL LA PAZ 

THE MOST PICTURESQUE INDIAN CITY OF SPANISH AMERICA 

We are now in Bolivia, the inland republic of South America. 
La Paz is its nominal capital. This city has a population of about 
65,000, and in many respects is the most wonderful city in the 
world. 

It has been said, man constructed the walls of all other cities but 
God himself built the walls of La Paz. This is true. It lies in the 
bottom of a valley at a depth of more than a thousand feet below 
the puna or plateau which stretches away on a level around all 
sides of the steep descent. Therefore, its walls or natural boundaries 
may be said to rise more than a thousand feet above the city. 

I have looked upon the artificial barriers which men have built 
around many cities of the Old World, I have seen the cyclopean 
structures erected to protect the strongholds of Eastern lands, I 
have viewed the colossal ramparts that surround Pekin, I have 
wondered at the huge masonry upreared to fortify the sacred city 
of Jerusalem, my attention has been riveted by the mighty buttresses 
of Cairo and the massive forts of Alexandria, I have wandered 
round Moorish cities having walls thick enough and solid enough 
to resist the artillery of a thousand cannon, but all these works of 
human skill and ambition, mighty though they are standing in the 
magnitude of strength, as silent witnesses of a past prowess and 
power, dwarf into insignificance when brought into comparison with 
what Nature has done to surround and fortify La Paz. 

As if scooped out of the great plain situated in the heart of the 
Bolivian Andes, this unique city lies hidden away like some gem of 
creation rather than a piece of man's handiwork, in seemingly sub- 
terranean obscurity between the everlasting hills which bound the 
plateau from which it descends. 

242 




BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF LA PAZ 




AN INDIAN GROUP, LA PAZ 



543 



MOST PICTURESQUE INDIAN CITY 245 

When we arrived at the brink of the valley — canon or gorge it 
would probably be called in the Western States — and looked down 
on the red-tiled terra cotta roofs so sharply defined in the clear 
air that the tiles might be counted, the sight unfolded before our 
eyes resembled some magic panorama spread before the view by 
wand of enchantment. The blending of colors was most remarkable, 
their variations entrancing the eye as if by a spell and claiming 
attention with a fascination altogether indescribable. 

The streets of La Paz climb up the sides of the gorge of both 
banks of the torrent of the same name that foams and flows at the 
bottom. As we looked down from the puna the streets, the yards, 
the gardens semed to be laid out with geometrical precision, giving 
the idea of a large natural map outlined with a faultless regularity. 
It was a map indeed full of life and color, a vitascope of changing 
hues and scenes which appealed to every esthetic instinct. 

From the edge of the barranca or "alto," as it is generally called, 
electric cars run down into the city by a series of zigzag tracks along 
the sides of the precipitous declivity. Despite the steepness of the 
grade, these cars are very light and all equipped with powerful 
brakes which can be clamped at any point in the descent. Of course 
they are not built for heavy traffic, but there is no heavy traffic 
to put them to any considerable strain. The great bulk of the freight 
is brought into the city on mules, donkeys, llamas and on the backs 
of the Indian natives. 

Though lying so low in the basin of the plateau, La Paz has the 
distinction of being the highest city in the world. It is 12,470 feet 
above sea-level, which makes it more than 2,000 feet higher than 
Quito. This great elevation causes it to be quite cold, though in the 
open the sun is very strong. The temperature climbs as high as 80 
degrees and over at noonday, but it sinks to 20 degrees and under at 
night in the winter, and, during the summer about the same extremes 
are experienced. This means that there is a difference of 60 degrees 
inside twenty-four hours, a variation which is very trying to the 
visitor or any one not acclimated to the place. To resist the cold the 
natives pile on extra ponchos, just as the Japanese wrap themselves 
in several kimonos when the mercury begins to creep down in the 
tube. They also encase their feet in rolls of fur or wool fashioned 
like hand-muffs. The natural cold of the place is not counteracted 
to any degree by artificial heat, for there are scarcely any fires, 
as the locality and surroundings are treeless and coal would have 
to be brought long distances at an expense beyond the means of 



246 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

the people. What fuel there is consists of the manure of llamas, 
which is carried into the city in sacks slung across the backs of the 
animals. 

We tried to keep ourselves warm by freely indulging in tea or 
other hot non-alcoholic beverages, and we also secured several lamps 
at consideiable expense. With our heavy coats tightly wrapped 
around us we managed to keep fairly comfortable in the evenings 
and to forget that there was any drawback in the way of cold to 
make us take less interest in the scenes which surrounded us. Be- 
tween the blankets, however, is the best place to keep warm while 
in La Paz when the sun goes down behind the towering Andes, and 
this fact induces early retirement in this place. 

Here I would give good advice to those intending to travel in 
South America — If you have a weak heart, or if you suffer from 
any pulmonary affections or complications, avoid La Paz, do not 
include it in your itinerary. Should pneumonia develop there is 
scarcely a chance for recovery, as there is not enough oxygen in the 
air to restore the lungs to their normal functions. Elsewhere I 
have alluded to the danger of sorroche to those affected with car- 
diac troubles. 

The rugged exercise to which we accustom ourselves at home is 
out of the question in this region. Even moderate exercise on oc 
casions is dangerous, as there is such a pressure on the breathing 
apparatus and the heart-beats become so quickened that there is 
much risk of total collapse. Often I had to pause for a short rest 
in climbing the steep streets, and all are steep except those that run 
along the bottom of the valley parallel to the river. Though I'm 
of a sound constitution and tolerably accustomed to climatic changes, 
I frequently felt the strain of the high altitude and the rarity of the 
atmosphere. On occasions I felt as if blood was about to spurt from 
my nostrils, especially when, for the time being, I so far forgot 
precaution as to walk too fast, or essay a steep incline at my usual 
gait without slowing down, or rather slowing up, in the ascent. 

Oftentimes the veins feel as if they would burst, and the lungs 
become painful as if in a last gasp for lack of air, while a drow- 
siness numbs the head and more or less stupefies the senses while 
it is being experienced. If you have exerted yourself beyond dis- 
cretion, the heart will beat when you lie down with heavy throbs 
against the chest like the "chug-chug" of an asthmatic automobile 
The condition is simply an intensification or aggravated form of the 
sorroche, often called in this locality the Mareo Montana, that is to 




AYMARA INDIANS, LA PAZ 




CHOLA WOMAN AND BABY, LA PAZ 



247 




CHOLA GIRLS GOING TO MARKET, LA PAZ 




MARKET SCENE BEFORE CATHEDRAL, LA PAZ 



249 




SUNDAY MARKET SCENE, LA PAZ 




INDIAN COSTUMES, MARKET, LA PAZ 



251 



MOST PICTURESQUE INDIAN CITY 253 

say, the mountain sea-sickness, an appellation which in itself is iden- 
ical with an Irish bull — a contradiction in terms; nevertheless, it 
describes the feeling one identifies with the experience of those who 
for the first time go down to the sea in ships and wish they were 
back again on land. 

The eyes also suffer. The bright sun-rays and the winds and the 
rarity of the atmosphere are very trying on the sight, often giving 
rise to acute inflammation of the eye-nerves and causing great pain. 
This affection is known as sirumpe, and few travelers escape it in 
this locality. 

The Indians do not seem to suffer in any way from tenousity of 
the atmosphere, and many of them are excellent athletes, — swift 
runners and good jumpers. Of course in their case they are thor- 
oughly inured to the climate, and thus environment becomes, as it 
were, a second nature. An Eskimo or a Laplander would soon 
wither away on the sunny plains of India, on the other hand a 
Hindu would very easily succumb to the cold and snows of the 
frozen North, but each thrives in his own country. 

La Paz was originally named Neustra Senora de la Paz, which 
means "Our Lady of Peace," by its founder, Alonzo de Mendoza. 
Its official name now is La Paz de Ayacucho — "the Peace of 
Ayacucho" — after the battle of that name. Of its population of 
65,000, it is claimed that more than 30,000 are Aymaras, who can 
neither speak nor understand Spanish, the State language, much 
less English, a foreign language to the country. 

Whether there are so many Aymara Indians in La Paz I can- 
not confirm or deny, but as to the statement concerning their igno- 
rance of the languages mentioned, my own experience on the street' 
and in the market leads me to believe that it is not to be doubted. 
The Indians with whom I had dealings or with whom I came 
in contact in any way, with possibly one or two exceptions, could 
not speak Spanish or English or understand me when I addressed 
them in either tongue, so I had to restort to a kind of sign language 
with pantomimic gestures to convey my meaning to them or to 
indicate what I wanted. Those dealers and peddlers who were 
most eager to sell their wares were heavily handicapped by this 
lack of knowledge of the language of many purchasers. 

Here I wish to emphasize the fact that the Aymaras are quite 
different from their mild and easy-going cousins, the Quichuas, 
whom one encounters around Cuzco. They are of a cunning and 
treacherous nature, and fighters "from away back" who fully realize 



254 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

their own importance to the State authorities. In no other city of 
the Andes are the Indians so powerful as in La Paz. In fact it is to 
the power of these aborigines that the city owes its political su- 
premacy as the seat of the President and Congress of the Republic. 
They are proud of this power, and the pride begets an insolence 
which is very repugnant to the whites, but the latter must bear it 
with the best equanimity they can. Bolivia is always in dread of 
an Indian rising, and it is on this account that revolutions are less 
frequent than in other republics, for the fear of these barbarous 
hordes is ever present to deter the whites from coming into san- 
guinary conflict with them. At Cuzco you can command a Quichua 
Indian to do your bidding and he readily obeys you, but in La 
Paz you have to humor the Aymara if you want anything done, 
and if you seek a favor, you have to come to him as a suppliant, not 
as a superior. 

Though La Paz is a city which enchants the tourist in a number 
of ways and claims his interest from several standpoints, there are 
not many remarkable buildings. True, some of the old time houses 
are massive, but not picturesque. The ecclesiastical structures are 
numerous, but for the most commonplace. The Cathedral, far from 
finished, has pretentious claims as an architectural pile, but there 
is little, if any, artistic beauty about it. It adjoins the government 
palace, where the President resides, and where the heads of the 
various executive offices have their departments. The walls, which 
are very thick — about ten feet — are composed of handsomely dressed 
stone. There are many carvings. The ornamentation of this ba- 
silica, however, as well as that of almost all the other churches, is 
heavy and tawdry and far from appealing to the artistic eye. Build- 
ing is still going on at this Cathedral, but very slowly. A govern- 
ment sum is appropriated every year for the structure, but as there 
is a tendency to separate church and state, the allowance is likely 
to be discontinued. 

The Church of San. Francisco is much more pleasing than the 
Cathedral. Its facade might be called handsome, and it has a very 
elaborately carved reredos behind the high altar. 

The Dominican friars have a large church which is a fashionable 
place of worship, attended by the best families. It is also much 
patronized by the military, the brilliant uniforms of the officers with 
their golden embroidery, bright buttons and flashing aiguilettes mak- 
ing quite an attraction as well as giving a dignity and impressiveness 
to the services. When the soldiers are absent the ceremonies, though 




A CHOLA GIRL LEAVING CATHEDRAL, LA PAZ 




OLD SPANISH RESIDENCE, LA PAZ 



255 




GATEWAY. XICHE CEMETERY, LA PAZ 




IN XICHE CEMETERY, LA PAZ 



257 




AT THE FOUNTAIN. LA PAZ 




JUG-FILLIXG AT FOUNTAIN, LA PAZ 



259 



MUST PICTURESQUE INDIAN CITY 261 

accompanied by all "the pomp and pageantry" for which the Roman 
ritual is famous seem dull and wearisome to a stranger not in com- 
munion with the Roman Church. 

There are several monasteries and convents occupying consider- 
able ground. The Carmelite nuns especially have a strong retreat 
here. They belong to one of the strictest orders of the Catholic 
Church, and in this place number several hundreds, perhaps the 
greatest body of them, housed under one roof in the world. Unlike 
those of most conventual institutions, the inmates of the La Paz 
nunnery come from only the best families. They live very austere 
lives. Once they pass the portals they never emerge again until, as 
corpses, they are borne to the little cemetery adjoining the building. 
The rules forbid them to see friends or to have any communication 
whatever with the outside world. 

The monasteries and churches of La Paz were formerly rich in 
property and in rights of mines and haciendas. Indeed many of 
the most productive mines were in possession of the ecclesiastics, 
such as the Jesuits and Franciscans. These mines were worked by 
Indian slaves ; some of them became exhausted, while depreciation 
in the price of silver and other circumstances caused the rest to be 
abandoned. 

In fact La Paz was once considered one of the wealthiest cities 
in South America, lying away in its deep valleyed seclusion among 
the mountains, but the wealth is now a thing of the past and the ma- 
jority of the people are poor. Sucre is now the money center of 
Bolivian capital and the home of the rich men of the Republic, who 
have their investments and commercial interests for the greater 
part in that city. 

Once the people of La Paz manufactured nearly all their own 
goods, but since the railway was constructed and facilities for ship- 
ment improved, most of the commodities have been imported. The 
warehouses and stores are generally well stocked, and most of them 
are in possession of German, English or American firms. A large 
part of the Indian clothing is manufactured in England but most of 
the indispensable ponchos are made in Germany which means a 
good bit of business for the Fatherland, as all the Indians must have 
these multi-colored blanket overcoats. These garments are dyed in 
keeping with the Indian taste for the gaudy in coloring, and dis- 
play almost all the hues of the spectrum. Stripes in green, yellow, 
orange, red and black seem to be the favorite patterns. 

The former wealth of the city is exemplified in many of the 



262 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

domestic buildings. As I have said, some of these are massive; 
their erection as well as their furnishings point to a lavish expense. 
But grand, rich, solid as they are, they are withal grim, gloomy, 
not impressive, but depressive. The furniture generally is of an 
elaborate kind, but antiquated, belonging to the days when Bolivia 
had its bonanza, when the mines were pouring out streams of silver 
and the people could afford to be extravagant. Despite the old- 
fashioned designs of the furniture and furnishings they are costly. 
There are drawing-rooms in La Paz which in point of richness can 
vie with many of those in the boasted mansions of New York's Fifth 
Avenue. 

Many of the houses have galleries built around the patio, but 
these are not frequented very much, as the cold air sweeps through 
them and renders them chilly and uninviting for lounging or any 
pleasurable purposes. Many of the entrances are guarded by huge 
gates surmounted with armorial bearings. These great iron barriers, 
so far from adding any beauty, suggest the sinister idea of grim 
prisons and donjon keeps strongly guarded from outside attack and 
inside escape. 

Probably the market-place is the most interesting of all the sights 
in La Paz. It is a fascinating spot in many ways, with its assemblage 
af natives leading their llamas and donkeys loaded down with the 
productions of the region, not to speak of the numerous babies which 
intermingle their high cries with the raucous voices of their parents 
as the latter offer their wares for sale. Sometimes the screaming 
of their babies resembles a caterwauling competition of fighting 
felines on a back fence at midnight. The wares are many and varied. 
The edibles consist of fruits, roots and grains from the plateau, 
as well as the produce of the nearest valleys which enjoy a warmer 
temperature. There were apples, pears, peaches, grapes, parched 
corn, beans, dried peas and coca. It is said that the coca habit is as 
general among the Bolivians as is that of the opium habit with the 
Chinese. I must not forget to mention potatoes, which were pre- 
pared and presented in many ways, in fact in so many, that I think 
every possible style must have been exhausted. What they called pre- 
served potatoes are cubes of the esculent which have been exposed to 
the air until all the juice or moisture has been evaporated. These 
chips have the appearance of pieces of withered cork and were 
wholly insipid and tasteless. 

Textile fabrics, weaves and embroideries, fashioned by native 
hands and many of excellent workmanship were also on sale and 




SELLING "CHUNO," OR FROZEN POTATOES, LA PAZ 




AN OUTSKIRT OF LA PAZ 



263 




VILLAGE OF OBRAJES, NEAR LA PAZ 




ROADSIDE SCENE, OBRATES 



265 



MOST PICTURESQUE INDIAN CITY 267 

commanded ready customers. The marts where these goods were 
exposed reminded me of some of the Oriental bazars I had visited 
in my travels in Morocco. 

The chief attraction of the markets for many visitors center in 
the gay costumes and dresses of the venders. Their continual move- 
ments presented a varied and wonderful panorama of coloring from 
bright scarlets and blood reds to azure blues and emerald greens. 
What a picture for an artist ! — but where is the artist who could 
have painted it ? While the ponchos are the distinctive outer cover- 
ing of the men, their remaining apparel claims attention. They 
have peculiar headpieces which vary according to the degree of im- 
portance assumed by the wearers among their kind, some having 
bright-colored knit caps with large ear-flaps hanging down, at each 
side, others proudly displaying felt hats as a mark or superiority. 
The Mestizos or Cholos (half-breeds) who look upon themselves 
as white try to emulate the whites in matters of dress and wear cloth 
coats and overcoats of a modern pattern. 

The Indian women are even more gaudily attired than the men 
and show off with intense effect their bright skirts and brilliant 
petticoats which are generally made of heavy woolen material. The 
skirts are full, smocked from the waist down and are short, never 
falling below the ankles, a custom of wearing which enables them to 
display well their gay hosiery and bright colored leather shoes. 
Many of them wear white shoes. The waists are of calico or vel- 
veteen, and, in keeping with the other garments, they are like 
Joseph's coat, of many colors, the brighter the better. Shawls, 
or scarfs called rebosas, are usually worn around the shoulders. 
Often babies are tied to the back by means of these shawls and 
scarfs and thus carried around while the mothers are doing business. 

Sunday is the best day for seeing the markets. Then the streets 
fairly overflow with the natives and, of course, they put on tneir 
brightest regalia. This is the harvest day of the peddlers and the 
merchandise is increased in kind and quantity. What a display of 
curious things we saw presented for inspection and sale ! There 
were tinware, woodenware, and crockeryware in every conceivable 
shape and form ; indeed a large number of articles looked to us 
without shape or form at all, if we may apply such an impossible 
description to the queer and grotesquely fashioned objects we saw 
on every side. They looked as if they could serve for neither use 
nor ornament, but it must be taken into consideration that the odd 
and fantastic appeal to the Indians, and, despite their assumed 



268 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

superiority, their fiery natures and fighting proclivities, in some 
respects they are but overgrown children. They delight in little 
things ; crude gewgaws and baubles give them as much pleasure as 
sawdust dolls give our little ones when Santa Claus brings tnem 
down the chimney at Christmas. In fact there were such dolls on 
sale, and clay models of many kinds representing llamas, donkeys, 
mules and mythical animals, so mythical that no one ever heard of 
their like either in story or fable. Miniature balsas, fairly con- 
structed little replicas of the basket craft of Lake Titicaca, also 
helped to swell the curious collections displayed in the sidewalks. 

Many kinds of dresses for women and girls were on sale as well as 
home manufactured ponchos, the grades ranging from the rich skin 
of the vicuna at $40 or $50 to the cheap hide of the llama, not 
worth more than $2 or $3. There is not much sale, however, for the 
native ponchos, the people preferring the German importations; 
consequently the making of ponchos in La Paz is not profitable and 
few give their time to it. 

As the natives are passionately fond of music there were many 
instruments to cater to their tastes in this direction such as Aymara 
Mutes, bamboo flageolets, harmonicas, guitars, trumpets, drums, horns 
and even miniature pianos. Speaking of pianos, it may be said that 
almost every Spanish home in La Paz has a real piano, and, as a 
general rule, every member of the family is able to play the (in- 
strument. 

Buying and selling do not constitute the sole features of the La 
Paz markets. There are much fun and amusement besides the 
trading and we regret to say gambling is carried on as a side issue. 
Some of the adjoining plazas are entirely devoted to games of 
chance, for these people, like their white brothers in higher civilized 
lands, have human weaknesses. The favorite game is dice, but it 
is not carried on in the same way as it is practiced by the street boys 
and gamblers in our own country. Instead of the spots, such as 
the aces and deuces, the dice bear grotesque figures, pictures of ani- 
mals, effigies of the sun and other emblematical designs. Each 
outfit has a different set, and three dice are thrown at the same time ; 
if the figures or representations on which a bet is placed turn up in 
the cast or throw the bettor wins. The bets are not high, scarcely 
ever exceeding a real, a small nickel coin about the value of four 
cents. 

Lotto is another game which takes the fancy of the natives, and, 
as in the case of dice, pictures take the place of numbers. Of course 




GROUP OF LLAMAS, OBRAJES 





INDIANS AT HOME, TIAHUANACO 




••v. 



■■■• 









AUTHOR AT ENTRANCE TO UNDERGROUND PASSAGE, 
TIAHUANACO 



"T 




STAIRWAY OF KALASASAYA PALACE, TIAHUANACO 



271 




MONOLITHIC DOORWAY OF OLD CEMETERY, TIAHUANACO 




MONOLITHIC GATEWAY, TIAHUANACO 



•273 




CATHEDRAL AT TIAHUANACO 



BUMMf 




A REMINDER OF THE PAST, TIAHUAXACO 



277 



MOST PICTURESQUE INDIAN CITY 279 

it is played as elsewhere with dice and cards, the cards, 
bearing several pictures and lines, and each dice one of the pic- 
tures vividly represented. The dice are put into a bag and as each 
one is drawn out the drawer announces the name of the picture on 
it. The corresponding picture on the card is then covered. The 
player who is the first to cover all the pictures on his card wins the 
pool. 

There are other chance games, but most of them are taken up 
merely as a pastime and not through any gambling instinct or with 
any intention to defraud by cheating or trickery. 

There is little disorder or rowdyism, though drunkenness is not 
unusual among these Indians. Here and there one may come across 
a gay fellow who has invested his few pesos in a jug of chicha and 
feels festive for the time being, but who will regret his indulgence on 
the morrow. 

The Alameda is a pleasant and gay place to spend an afternoon. 
It is a handsome promenade, shaded by the slender eucalyptus trees 
which seem to thrive much better here than in any other place out- 
side their native home, Australia. This is, no doubt, owing to the 
dry air and strong sun which produce conditions somewhat like those 
of the Australian climate. Through the interstices of the trees one 
catches glimpses of the towering snow-capped peak of Illimani, one 
of the three highest in the Andes, which the morning sunbeams kiss 
at an elevation of four miles above the sea and which seems to typify 
some giant guardian genius everlastingly keeping watch and ward 
over this region of lights and shades, of bright skies and cloudy 
landscapes, of high plateaus and sunken valleys. A band plays 
in the Alameda on each alternate night and crowds always come to 
listen to the music. At all times it is a popular resort, but especially 
so on Sundays when there are no surpassing attractions in the city 
to draw the people. On this day thousands come out in their best 
clothes to see and be seen and to interchange gossip, walking up and 
down or sitting on the iron benches beneath the trees. It is inte- 
resting to watch the cholo girls swaggering along in their finest array 
with billycock hats and short multicolored skirts which allow a dis- 
play of the fringes of their lace petticoats and also show their silken 
hose and high-heeled shoes to the best advantage. They present an 
unique and comic sight. 

The Plaza Murillo, with the President's palace and Senate House, 
is inviting. The legislative building is a good specimen of architec- 
ture, but in my opinion the zinc spire detracts much from its beauty. 



280 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

It was formerly a Jesuit monastery. The Senate occupies what was 
once the library of the monks and the Chamber of Deputies meets 
in what was the chapel. The plaza is small but very tastefully laid 
out. We passed a few pleasant evenings walking around this square 
and enjoyed very much the really good music discoursed by the band 
which plays each alternate evening. 

Music is indeed a prominent and pleasant feature of life in La 
Paz, and much of it is supplied by the military. The troops seem 
to be always marching, and all through the day you can hear strains 
of martial music coming from some quarter. There are many 
soldiers. Former revolutions created a military spirit which still 
exists, though the pay is insignificant ; probably the glittering uni- 
forms, with their gold braiding and laces, have something to do in 
attracting the youth to the colors. Most of the privates are Indians 
and half-breeds. 

Though the natives of La Paz are wofully deficient in speaking 
or understanding any language save their own, education is not 
neglected. There are several schools. The best is said to be con- 
ducted by a North American mission, and the fact that it is the 
best is accounted for by reason of its devoting itself entirely to 
secular education and not proselytizing, as so many similar insti- 
tutions do. It is patronized by several Roman Catholic families who 
send their children to it. 

There are two or three newspapers published in La Paz, but they 
have no outside correspondents and receive no telegraphic de- 
spatches ; they simply make reprints of the news furnished by the 
Lima papers, especially by El Commercio of that city. 

Bull-fighting still prevails in La Paz, but the sport is not as brutal 
as in Spain. It is conducted under certain rigid rules, and the mu- 
nicipal authorities always attend. Horses are not permitted to be 
gored to death, and when it is thought the poor bull has afforded 
sufficient of the cruel amusement, the matador is commanded to put 
him to death with as much mercy and as little pain as possible. 
The bull-ring is surrounded by a circular adobe wall of about 200 
feet in diameter and sheltered by a roof of galvanized iron. There 
are terraced seats around the enclosure, except at the entrance and 
at the point where the bull is led to the combat. It is situated on 
the summit of one of the many hills which rise up around the city. 
Not infrequently several bulls are led into the arena of an evening 
for the amusement of the spectators, and having contributed their 
part to the excitement are slaughtered by the matador. 




AUTHOR AT INCAN IDOL, TIAHUANACO 




MONOLITHIC IDOL FOUND IN RUINS OF TIAHUANACO 



^m 





INDIAN GIRL SPINNING, RUINS OF TIAHUANACO 




PONCHO WEAVING, TIAHUANACO 




VIEW OF GUAQUI 




TIN AND SILVER ORE AT GUAQUI 



MOST PICTURESQUE INDIAN CITY 287 

Before leaving the neighborhood of La Paz, we visited the vil- 
lage and ruins of Tiahuanaco. The most interesting of these ruins 
is convenient to the little railway station at which we alighted. We 
first inspected the mound known as "The Fortress," which was orig- 
inally a truncated pyramid about 600 feet long, 400 feet wide and 
50 feet high. Travelers have dug great holes in its sides, actuated 
by the vain hope that they might come upon some of the "treasure 
trove" of the wealthy Indians. 

Not far from "The Fortress" are rude stone blocks about ten feet 
high and three feet thick, which are supposed to have formed part 
of the walls of a great temple or palace. Tourists and treasure- 
seekers have hauled these blocks from their original positions and 
now they lie in confusion, so that it is impossible to determine how 
they were originally placed. 

The chief ruins of Tiahuanaco consist of rows of erect, roughly 
shaped monoliths, sections of huge stairways, remains of founda- 
tions, monolithic statues and monolithic doorways, bearing carvings 
in low relief. These are scattered over a broad level part of the 
plain. We saw great stone platforms weighing many tons each. 
The question which confronts the archhasologist and student is, how 
did these immense stones get here? There are no quarries from 
which they could have come. Were they carried from a great dis- 
tance? If so, who carried them? The best authorities are of the 
opinion that they must have been quarried in the vicinity from out- 
cropping ledges which have long since disappeared beneath the 
sands and earth. 

There is little left of ancient Tiahuanaco for the antiquarian or 
explorer to puzzle over. The Spaniards used a large quantity of 
the stone of the old buildings in the erection of the churches of 
La Paz and Guaqui. Nearly all that they left has been taken away 
and used in the construction of the bridges and warehouses for the 
modern railroad from Guaqui to La Paz. It is estimated that five 
hundred train-loads have thus been used. 

Alas, that the maw of commerce should swallow such necessary 
evidence of a wonderful past and so deprive us forever of the key 
that might have unlocked its mysteries ! 



CHAPTER XI 



FROM MOLLENDO TO VALPARAISO 



SAILING ALONG THE CHILEAN COAST 

Returning to Mollendo we again put out to sea, bound for Val- 
paraiso, the New York of the Southern Pacific. I have said 
before that the harbor of Mollendo is rough. The surf dashes in 
with a great force and coming in contact with the black rocks sends 
up a spume or spray fully half a hundred feet in the air at times. 

The boat which took our baggage out to the ship was dashed about 
here and there like a log among the cross-currents of a river, and 
but for the strength and dexterity of the coffee-colored boatmen 
would have bumped to destruction on some of the ugly ledges that 
uprear their jagged crowns above the hissing waves. As it was, 
the little craft grazed a huge boulder, but fortunately sheered off 
just in time to save it from being rent asunder by the force of a 
more violent impact. 

Once on board our vessel we set about preparations to make our- 
selves as comfortable as possible during the voyage, for we had an 
extended run before us of some eight days, before reaching the 
harbor of Valparaiso. 

Crossing the Atlantic nowadays is much less formidable than ply- 
ing between Mollendo and the chief Chilean seaport, though the 
distance is not more than one-half as long. The steamers are not 
on the same palatial scale nor near so swift as the magnificent ves- 
sels which plow through the Northern seas between Europe and 
America at a speed of 500 knots and over per day. Yet they are 
not bad for this part of the world, while the accommodation and 
cuisine though far from being perfect are not to be despised, in 
fact are better than on some of the pretentious lines by which I 
have traveled. 

288 




MOLLENDO HARBOR, ROUGHEST ON WEST COAST 




$>s- 



THIXKIXG OF OTHER DAYS 



289 



ALONG THE CHILEAN COAST 291 

Though desirous of making the best arrangements in our quarters 
for the comparative long distance we were to travel by water we 
spent as little time below as we could help in locating staterooms, 
selecting our saloon places and depositing baggage, for we were 
eager to get on deck to obtain a view of the shore-line before the 
shadows of night would creep down the sides of the great mountains, 
and envelop the scenery in a robe of darkness. 

The sun was sloping in the sky, rolling his golden wheel down 
the western arch, soon to sink in burnished splendor beneath the 
calm waters of the Pacific. The glory of the dying radiance re- 
flected a wonderful beauty on sea and shore, limning a picture which 
could never be transferred to canvas — a picture which thrilled us 
with rapture as we gazed on the delicate coloring, so wonderfully 
relieved here and there by the beautiful traceries which mingled 
their effect with the sunset glow, both on the water and on the land. 
It was surely a scene to elevate the soul and fill it with reverence and 
adoration of the Great Being who everywhere displays His power 
and majesty to impress Llis creatures with their own insignificance 
in face of the enternal grandeur and force of Nature, and to make 
them realize at the same time their dependenc upon Him in all 
places and at all times. 

In the waning light we could see large flocks of aquatic birds seek- 
ing their roosts of rest for the night, some circling round and round 
in their flight, but with each revolution getting nearer to the coast, 
others diving to the surface of the water to rise again on lazy pinions 
as they winged themselves nearer to the land. There were cormor- 
ants, gulls, divers and a few of the big petrels or "bone-breakers" 
which generally keep farther south than this latitude. Some of our 
passengers who laid claim to a knowledge of bird lore maintained 
they could distinguish one or two of the great albatrosses of the 
Southern seas, but doubtless they were mistaken, and the birds they 
mistook for albatrosses were but large specimens of the petrel fam- 
ily, "the mariner's warning birds," for albatrosses are never seen 
ashore, except on the barren Aatartic islands where they breed. 
The giant mottle-brown pelicans, with their great sack pouches and 
long wings, especially drew our attention as they slowly-flapped 
their way to the shore. 

The last of the feathery sea-wanderers had disappeared in the 
oncoming shadows when the dinner-bell called us away, but it was 
not long before we were again pacing the deck, looking up at the 
brilliant constellations of stars studding the southern heavens, twink- 



292 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

ling in the cloudless cerulean dome of sky and seeming like myriad 
eyes turned toward earth and sea in an eternal night-watch over the 
scenes upon which they had gazed from the beginning of the ages. 
Our old friends of northern latitudes, the Great Bear or, as w T e more 
familiarly know it, the Plow, Orion, the Pleiades and the many 
others which circle around Polaris, had long since disappeared from 
view but we welcomed the new wanderers of space which riveted 
our attention on account of their strangeness and appealed to us 
with an irresistible interest. The beautiful and much heralded con- 
stellation of the Southern Cross, the glory of the southern sky, can 
be seen in this region with clear distinctness. In the early ages this 
constellation was visible as far north as Southern Europe, but owing 
to the precession of the equinoxes it gradually receded. Now it 
should be observed first about the locality of the Tropic of Cancer 
or 23J/2 degrees north latitude, but on account of the dimness which 
encircles the horizon it does not come into view until the voyager 
approaches much nearer to the equator. From such location it ap- 
pears to gradually creep up the heavenly arch until finally when one 
reaches the latitude of southern South America and Australia it is 
almost in the zenith pointing to the South polar star. We viewed 
it with much interest for we had heard of it so often, and, besides, 
it recalled to many of us bygone days of boyhood when we first 
learned of it through the school-books in our Northern homes. 

The view which captivated us soon after setting out from the 
harbor of Mollendo was not a presage of what we were to experi- 
ence on our trip down the coast of Chile. The glamor of the sunset 
and the picture it presented of seascape and landscape was by no 
means a harbinger of what was to follow. No panorama of suc- 
cessive beauties was to be unfolded for our delight and admiration. 
Far from it. Though in places the scenery is bold and striking, for 
the most part the shore-line of the narrow republic is bare, barren 
and desolate. In fact Chile begins in a desert, and a desert, more 
or less, it continues for over a thousand miles between the Cordil- 
leras and the ocean. A great part of this desert is an arid waste, 
useless, ugly, repellent, but the remainder of it is a profitable desert 
as we shall see later on. 

The country is three thousand miles long and not more than one 
hundred and fifty miles in breadth at the widest part, in some places 
the strip narrows to a distance of less than fifty miles across. The 
total population is about 3,300,000. 

On the east side the massive ranges of the Cordilleras of the 



ALONG THE CHILEAN COAST 293 

Ancles bound it, separating it for a short distance in the north from 
Bolivia and for the long remainder of the way from Argentina. 

Jutting up from the western coast and parallel to the Cordilleras 
runs a chain of hills from 2,000 to 3,000 feet in height, between the 
foot of which and the ocean the ground is rough and rugged, save 
for a few valleys through which some of the short mountain rivers 
make their way to the sea. 

The depression which lies between the coast hills and the Cordil- 
leras is from twenty to thirty miles wide, in some places very hilly, 
in others spreading out into plains. This space between the hills and 
the mountains may be said to constitute the real Chile, for in it most 
of the population dwell, the small remainder being found in the few 
little maritime towns scattered along the coast. 

"Fields," as applied to the areas containing nitrates, is a mislead- 
ing term. All is a miserable looking waste, an arid land without a 
blade of grass or vegetation, only a stunted scrub cropping up at 
rare intervals. 

But the region is very unlike a desert in the signs of life it dis- 
plays ; groups of workmen, bronzed and muscular, can be seen scat- 
tered over the desolate plain, laboriously wielding picks or boring 
holes in the rocky surface for dynamite charges, while others load 
lumps of rock on trucks which run on narrow gauge lines to the 
officinas, that is, the places where the rock is ground and prepared 
for commerce. These officinas are large factory buildings, sur- 
rounded by the huts of the laborers and the more pretentious dwell- 
ings of the managers and overseers. 

The preparation of the nitrate is intricate, involving several proc- 
esses which are complicated in the extreme. The rock from which 
it is obtained is called caliche and is of different colors, — white, yel- 
low, gray, violet and sometimes green. In places it is found above 
ground, but generally it lies from two to three feet below the sur- 
face, covered with a strata of rock salt on the top. It has then to 
be blasted out with dynamite and other explosives. 

When brought to the factory great crushers break the lumps into 
small pieces which, by means of inclined tubes, are clumped into large 
tanks of boiling water. The degree of temperature is so regulated 
that the water acts on the mass to the greatest advantage. It is 
passed from tank to tank, according to certain requirements, and 
finally the fluid is drawn off into shallow iron vats constructed for 
the purpose. Nearly all the nitrate of soda in the rock passes off in 
solution with the fluid. In the dry air and with the fierce heat of 



294 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

the sun the liquid soon evaporates, and when the residue is exposed 
for a certain length of time it crystallizes into rhombohedral forms 
which constitute saltpeter or nitrate of soda. This is shoveled upon 
drying boards where it is allowed to lie for days in the strong sun- 
light, when it is sorted according to quality and put up in bags to 
be hauled down the railway to the nitrate ports for exportation. 
Repeated crystallization will purify the article to a great degree of 
fineness. As is very well known, the crude nitrate for the most part 
is used for fertilizing purposes, to give back the proper constituents 
to exhausted soils. The finest grade goes to the powder-mills and 
to aid in the manufacture of high explosives, while the intermediate 
quality is sent to the chemical works, to form the base of different 
compounds. 

A very valuable by-product of nitrate is iodine, which is obtained 
as a precipitate from the nitrate liquor through the agency of the 
bisulphide of soda. At first it appears as a black mass which, when 
washed and filtered, is passed through iron retorts to heat. The 
heat causes it to turn into vapor, which is conducted through fireclay 
pipes where it again condenses into crystals of a beautiful violet 
color, which are the chief source of the world's supply of iodine. 

The barren repulsive wastes from which the nitrate is obtained 
are called "pampas" in this part of Chile, but why this term is used 
is a mystery to me, as in the general acceptation of the word it means 
undulating plains covered with verdure and vegetation. There is 
no vegetation whatever on the Chilean "pampas," in fact not a 
green thing nor a sign of natural life springing from the arid sur- 
face, but everything dull, dead and inert matter. 

As nothing grows for human sustenance and no water is to be 
found, the nitrate laborers have to depend for food and drink on 
the supplies brought up from the nitrate ports. These are primitive 
looking little towns constructed of one-story lumber shacks very 
much like those of the mining encampments of the West of our own 
country. The roofs are of galvanized iron, which draw the strong 
rays of the sun in this rainless region and make the inside a very 
reservoir of sickening, stifling, heat and bodily discomforts. The 
streets, though wide, are full of dust and sand, which penetrate into 
ears, mouth and nostrils, rendering breathing difficult at times. The 
whole person becomes covered as it were with a hideous brown mask, 
the fine particles sift into the hair of the head and eyebrows, giving 
an itching sensation and causing an all round feeling of misery. So 
great is the heat reflected from the vast area of surrounding desert 



■ 





GUANO-COVERED ROCKS OFF COAST OF CHILE 



295 



ALONG THE CHILEAN COAST 297 

that one feels as if pent up in a furnace house with every exit of 
relief closed. Yet in these places men congregate from all parts of 
the world, willing to undergo suffering and privations for the sake of 
the money to be made in trade. Many get the money but the price 
they pay is dear. 

There are Englishmen, Germans, Frenchmen and Italians with 
not a few from the United States, besides representatives from 
other countries in less numbers. In some of the towns the foreigners 
are in excss of the natives. 

There are many stores, too many seemingly for the population, 
but the wants of the workers in the nitrate fields and others beyond 
the hills have to be considered. A motley collection of wares and 
necessaries are exhibited. The greater part of the food supplies con- 
sist of canned stuff imported from many countries — bacon from 
Chicago, sausages from Germany, macaroni from Italy, sardines 
and anchovies from the Mediterranean, codfish from Norway, tea 
and rice from China, and coffee from Brazil. There is always a 
plentiful supply of brandy, rum and other strong drinks, for de- 
spite the great heat, both the natives and foreigners freely indulge 
in the cup that cheers and at the same time inebriates. Fresh water 
has to be piped long distances to these nitrate towns. Formerly sail- 
ing vessels brought it from "wet ports" up the coast, and at times 
it sold as high as $2 per gallon. Now the supply comes from the 
Andes in iron pipes. The conduit which supplies Iquique is 80 
miles long, but Antofagasta can boast an aqueduct 100 miles longer, 
probably the longest in the world. 

Wearing apparel, household appurtenances, tools, implements and 
machinery have also to be imported. Cottons and woolens, china, 
crockery and glassware come from Germany ; boots and shoes from 
France ; drugs, chemicals and domestic hardware such as cutlery, 
from England, and jewelry from Switerland. Most of the ma- 
chinery for the nitrate factories comes from the United States and is 
set up by skilled workmen specially brought from the same place for 
the purpose. With the exception of a few articles in the way of 
canned goods this is about all the patronage this country gets, as 
Europeans monopolize the great bulk of all the imports. 

Besides nitrate, Chile is rich in several other minerals. It is the 
second largest silver mining country in South America and the third 
largest copper producer in the world. There are extensive deposits 
of calcium borate in the province of Antofagasta. The manganese 
mines of Coquimbo and Atacama yield about 25,000 tons yearly. 



298 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Gold is found both in the north and south. There are several large 
coal veins, and quicksilver and lead are mined in paying quantities. 

I would like to treat of the mineral wealth of Chile at greater 
length, but I must return to our voyage down the coast. 

The first port of any interest or importance south of Mollendo is 
Arica. This town lies close to the shore at the foot of a barren 
bluff, and from the deck of our vessel looked rather inviting, but we 
are constrained to say that the look was deceptive as was proved by a 
sultry, unpleasant walk through its badly paved streets, where the 
glare reflected from the different colored walls struck painfully on 
the eyes and made us hasten our steps to get away from it. 

There are some pleasant spots, however, in Arica. The tiny plaza 
was delightfully cool and refreshing, with its profusion of tropical 
flowers and green plants looking like a veritable bower of beauty in 
an ugly setting. Indeed it was the only spot where we came upon 
a little green to diversify the gray and sultry sameness of the whole 
place. 

Arica is not unimportant from an historical standpoint. It for- 
merly belonged to Peru, but was taken by the Chileans during the 
war of 1880. There was a fierce battle at this place and a horrible 
massacre. The Peruvian soldiers, with their batteries, had taken 
up a position on the Morro, a high promontory at one side of the 
town, thinking that in such a commanding place they could defend 
the harbor from any attack, but the Chileans, getting information of 
the strategy of their enemy, landed a mighty force a few miles lower 
down on the coast, which marched in the night along the beach and 
suddenly attacked the Peruvians in the rear who, cut off from any 
escape landward, fell in hundreds in the terrible onslaught. The 
Peruvian commander and many of the officers hurled themselves 
over the promontory to the jagged rocks below rather than fall into 
the vengeful hands of the infuriated Chileans. 

Arica has been unfortunate as the victim of several earthquakes 
and other catastrophes. In 1868 it was almost wholly washed away 
by a tidal wave in which thousands perished, and in which two 
United States men-of-war, lying in the harbor at the time, were 
dashed to kindling wood. One of them was actually swept over the 
houses of the town and all on board, officers and men, lost their 
lives. Few escaped on the other. 

There is a great highway from Arica into the interior of Peru and 
Bolivia which was constructed by the Incas and has been used for 
hundreds of years as a route of travel. Trains of laden llamas, bur- 



ALONG THE CHILEAN COAST 301 

ros and mules can be seen continually on this road carrying foreign 
merchandise into the interior and bringing out the products of the 
mines, forests and pastures. 

Vegetables and fruits are brought in from the Azapa valley, lying 
near. When we came back to our vessel we found market-women 
thronging the decks offering their wares — russet pears, tempting 
peaches, large and luscious grapes hanging in clusters and of all 
colors, red-cheeked apples and big melons which would have made 
the teeth of a Georgia "nigger" water with anticipation. 

Arica is now the port for Tacna, and soon it will be a place of 
more importance than it has been, for there is a hundred mile rail- 
road now in course of construction from it to La Paz which will 
open up easier commercial relations with Bolivia and Peru. 

We made a short call at Pisagua and next came to Iquique, the 
port and capital of the Chilean territory of Tarapaca, which also 
belonged to Peru until 1880. It would be hard to imagine a more 
desolate or forlorn-looking place. It lies at the base of a barren 
rocky wall, more than two hundred feet in height, with no vegeta- 
tion or color surrounding it to relieve the eye, not even a blade of 
grass, nor would there be any water but for the pipe system already 
alluded to which connects with the springs of Pica away up in the 
mountains. Yet, despite the barrenness of the surroundings and 
the desolate look it wears, Iquique does an enormous trade. About 
$60,000,000 worth of saltpeter and almost $3,000,000 worth of 
iodine are shipped from this port annually. Here are also the amal- 
gamating works which were run in connection with the neighboring 
silver mines, formerly operated by the Spanish Government but 
filled up during the revolution. Iquique at present has a population 
of more than 30,000. 

Antofagasta, another of these desert coast towns, was our next 
stopping-place. It is the capital of the province of the same name, 
and also does a large export trade. Besides being one of the nitrate 
ports it holds first importance in the copper exporting trade, some 
of the ore running 25 per cent pure. But probably its chief dis- 
tinction lies in the fact that it is near to the apparently inexhaustible 
borax fields. The railroad from Antofagasta into Bolivia runs for 
twenty miles along the edge of the great borax lake of Ascotan which 
has enough of this material to supply all the laundries of the world 
for many a year to come. Several volcanic peaks rise behind Anto- 
fagasta, from which a sulphurous vapor is belched forth that can 
be seen from a long distance. There are large deposits of pure native 



302 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

sulphur in this neighborhood in the forest range of the Andes and 
some enterprising companies are doing a good business in this nat- 
ural product. 

Antofogasta also came under the rule of Chile during the war. 
Its present population is 20,000. Like Mollendo it has a very bad 
landing-place. The approach to it is attended with much difficulty 
and often danger. 

The day following our departure from Antofogasta we made the 
trim little port of Taltal, a small town having valuable copper mines 
with smelting works in the neighborhood. The harbor is among 
the best on the coast and affords good protection for trading vessels. 

We made a call at Valdera, once a flourishing town, but now a 
place of little importance. 

From here we had a long run until we came to the port of Co- 
quimbo, a town which lies two hundred miles north of Valparaiso 
near the mouth of a river bearing the same name. Five miles farther 
up the coast, on the same bay, we passed La Serena, said to be the 
oldest Spanish town in Chile. It is built somewhat back from the 
sea, because its founders dreaded the English and Dutch maraud- 
ers who scoured this coast at the time in quest of prey and plunder. 
Coquimbo is also an old settlement, having been founded as far 
back as 1544, near the site of one of the then gold mines. 

Though the population is only 10,000, it is quite a flourishing 
place. It thrives on the large trade supplied by the mines in its 
immediate proxmity. Here is one of the richest copper deposits of 
the whole continent. The mineral is said to be inexhaustible in this 
region, and is found almost pure native. Hides and skins are also 
exported, the latter very largely. The greatest supply of chin- 
chilla skins come from this port. Although it is said the little 
Andean rodents which furnish them are becoming scarcer, it seems 
there is no diminution in the shipments of skins from Coquimbo. 

The harbor is part of a wide bay, and in fact is the best between 
Guayaquil and Valparaiso. This must not be taken to mean that it 
is an excellent port of accommodation for all kinds of shipping, 
which it is not. It can only be called good by comparison with 
most of those along that bleak and rocky coast. 

It may be interesting to note that Coquimbo is the place where the 
slang term "gringo" originated. A few English sailors in a happy 
mood were going through the place one day, singing the old song, — 
"Green Grow the Rushes, Oh !" and probably in doing so their 



ALONG THE CHILEAN COAST 305 

phonetic utterance of the words was not too clear or distinct. At 
any rate "green grows" sounded to the native ears like "gringos," 
hence from this time all foreigners have been styled "Gringos." 

On a cool April morning we reached the harbor of the commercial 
capital, not only of Chile, but of all western South America — Val- 
paraiso the busiest emporium on the coast. 



CHAPTER XII 
IN BUSY VALPARAISO 

THE CHIEF SEAPORT OF THE WESTERN COAST 

I rose early the morning our steamer was due in Valparaiso, 
for I was eager to catch a view of this wonderful city, hanging 
from the mountainsides with the waters of the Pacific laving its feet 
as they sweep around the semicircular bay. 

I had some ideas of a terrestrial paradise, a delightful climate 
of perpetual sunshine and balmy breezes, of orange groves filled 
with birds of gorgeous plumage — a land where all might live and en- 
joy themselves without care or effort among the beautiful surround- 
ings prepared by the lavish hand of nature. Most of us are accus- 
tomed at times to dream of Southern lands as homes of ideal exis- 
tence, where the days glide imperceptibly onward amid scenes of 
universal loveliness ; where peace and contentment reign and where 
the soul can be soothed and comforted and the cares and worries 
and strifes of the busy outside world forgotten in such delightful 
retreats. But the reality in most cases very quickly dissillusions us, 
the dreams dissolve into thin air like shadows before the sunlight, 
the ideals we conjure up are ruthlessly shattered, and all the imagin- 
ings and anticipations in which we fondly indulge, turn into so many 
idle fancies which prove wholly unlike the surroundings in which we 
find ourselves. Our "Chateaux en Espagne," — castles in Spain, — ■ 
videlicet, castles in the air, totally collapse and the fairyland they 
occupied resolves itself into an ordinary place of every-day existence 
where life is just the same as anywhere else under similar condi- 
tions. 

In saying this I do not mean that Valparaiso is the same as any 
other city — it is not. I merely wish to convey that southern 
cities and lands fall short of our anticipations, and that the realities 

306 



CHIEF WESTERN SEAPORT 307 

of life must be encountered in them as in other places. There is 
no earthly paradise, at least I have seen none in my travels 
around the world. Of course latitude makes a wide distinction in 
scenery, manner of living and general conditions, the tropical differ- 
ing much from the temperate regions of the earth. 

Valparaiso was not as I had pictured it, not a bower of beauty 
beloved of the gods, not a realm of fascinating joys and unalloyed 
delights, not a region to entrance the eye and captivate the heart 
with its charms. Nevertheless, it is an unique and an interesting 
city, very different from our northern beehives of social life and 
commerce. But it is far from a paradise, though its name implies 
the word, the term meaning "Valley of Paradise." This title was 
conferred upon the place by Juan De Saavedra, who came upon a 
little Indian village here in 1536. He simply named it in honor 
of his native home in Old Castile without any regard to site or sur- 
roundings. It is not in a valley and there are few, if any, indica- 
tions in sight to liken it to the conceptions we have of the celestial 
abode on the other side of the Great Divide. There is certainly no 
other city in the world having a similar site. Rome sits on seven 
hills, but Valparaiso covers nineteen. These hills, or cerros, as they 
are called down there, are composed of elevations of gneiss and 
granite and range from 30C feet to 1,100 feet in height, some of 
them being separated by deep hollows or ravines through which 
little streams of water make their way down to the bay. The homes 
of the city are built on the terraced sides of these cerros, which are 
connected by handsome bridges and made accessible from the streets 
by inclined railways, stairways and elevators, known as ascensors 
in the vernacular of the inhabitants. The dwelling-houses are mostly 
of the one and two story type, constructed of adobe and bamboo- 
lath, plastered over to represent stone and roofed with tile. The 
adobes are large bricks made of a mixture of clay and straw dried 
in the sun. They are about eighteen inches long, nine wide and 
three or four thick. The tile-roofing is made of half-cylinders of 
pottery ,about eighteen inches long by eight in diameter. The slop- 
ing sides, leading from the eaves to the apex or ridge, are composed 
of an initial or inner sheeting of seasoned boards which is coated 
with thick mud ; while it is yet of a soft consistence the tiles are laid 
on it in courses with the concave sides up, the upper tiles lapping 
over the under. On the edges the tiles are laid converse, while the 
ridge is formed by a row laid close together. They are of a reddish- 
brown color, and when the sunlight strikes them from a favorable 



308 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

angle the effect is somewhat pleasing. To me these tile roofs of the 
old Spanish- American cities have a peculiar charm; not only are 
they picturesque amid modern surroundings, but they always remind 
me of pleasant days spent 'neath cloudless skies in the sunny clime 
of Andalusian Spain. 

The streets in the lower part of the city, adjacent to the wharves, 
are straight, but those higher up are mere winding roads climbing 
the steep ascents of the hills and terminating in lofty summits from 
which a splendid view can be obtained of the harbor with its infinite 
variety of shipping until the perspective is lost in the horizon of 
waters stretching away in the mists of distance to the desert island 
of Juan Fernandez, the celebrated home of Robinson Crusoe, which 
lies in a direct line some 600 miles to the west of Valparaiso. 

The level ground along the bay constitutes but a narrow strip, in 
some places wide enough for four parallel streets, but in other places 
so narrow that there is barely room for two ; nowhere is it more 
than half a mile in width. Much of this narrow strip was made 
by filling up the low ground along the bay and protecting it from 
the sea by stone walls and iron rails. This involved a great deal of 
expense. 

For the purposes of municipal and administrative government the 
city is divided into four sections, and these correspond to the physi- 
cal divisions. What is known as the Port, or first section, covers 
nine of the cerros or hills and takes in the northwestern part of the 
city , extending from the bay inland and from the western limits of 
the municipality to the Plaza Del Orden or Pinto. The largest 
wharves are in this section and consequently most of the shipping 
is carried on in this part of the city. It contains many important 
buildings and offices such as the Intendencia, the Old San Salvador 
Church, the Naval Academy, the Post-office, the Custom-house and 
stores, and quite a number of hotels and general warehouses. There 
are also some good family residences on the higher streets. 

The second section is that of San Juan de Dios which lies to the 
east of the Port and extends as far as the Plaza Victoria. Within 
its confines are Espiritu Santo Church and the Victoria Theater. 
In this part are also situated the principal cemeteries. 

The Del Almendal portion of the city reaches from the Plaza 
Victoria on the west to Avenida de las Delicias on the east. It 
possesses the widest strip of level land, and its streets are broader 
and more regular than those of the other sections. It contains many 
large public and private buildings, including Doce Apostoles Church 




HARBOR VIEW, VALPARAISO 




VALPARAISO AND HARBOR 



CHIEF WESTERN SEAPORT 311 

and the Teatro del Odeon. Many beautiful gardens can be seen here 
and there, refreshing the eye and relieving the sameness of the 
surrounding buildings. 

The fourth division of the city is that known as the Baron, and 
takes in all that part lying northeast of the Plaza de las Delicias. 
Owing to the high hills the streets are very irregular in this quarter ; 
nevertheless, the principal railroad station of Valparaiso is located 
within its boundaries, although the railway extends along the whole 
water-front. 

Calle Victoria is the principal thoroughfare. It is a wide street 
stretching along the bay from one end of the city to the other. It 
is lined with handsome government buildings, hotels, banks, offices 
and stores. The majority of these edifices are built of brick and are 
three and four stories in height ; carved facades are a prominent 
feature. All the stores have heavy plate-glass windows and are 
well-stocked with merchandise of as good a quality and as great a 
variety as any I have seen in the boasted emporiums of the North. 
Indeed it is to be questioned if there is any other city in the world 
of equal population that has so many fine shops with so varied 
and valuable assortments of goods as has Valparaiso. Several of 
them make a most lavish display of costly articles and wares from 
fine silks and diamonds to the latest fads of fashion imported from 
the European capitals. Of course there are no large department 
stores to monopolize custom, consequently the individual stores 
carrying one line of goods always do a large business, for the people 
are in fairly good circumstances, though the city has not as yet 
fully recovered from the enormous losses entailed by the terrible 
earthquake of 1906. Prosperity, however, before that disaster, gave 
them extravagant tastes which they still make efforts to gratify in 
the way, of fine apparel, adornments and in good living as well. Be- 
sides, there is a large wealthy foreign element who live high and 
indulge themselves with all that money can afford. 

Some of the private residences are palatial in their proportions, 
adornments and general surroundings. Capitalists, bankers and 
merchants spare no expense in decorating and furnishing their 
homes; the inside of many are as gorgeously and sumptuously 
fitted out as any of the traditional castles of European lands. Life 
runs as high here as in New York or the gayest capitals of the Old 
World. There are clubs which in appointments and exclusiveness 
can equal those of London, Paris or Berlin. Of these may be men- 
tioned the Albion, the Circulo Espanol, the Circulo Italiano and the 



312 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

Aleman. The first is the gathering-place for the English beau 
monde, and here is retailed the latest gossip and scandals of Rotten 
Row, Piccadilly and the Strand. The principal English papers are 
received here, and if you drop in of an evening you can see the 
well-fed, well-groomed, sleek Britisher pouring over the columns of 
The Times and noting the figures of the London stock exchange as 
he sips his wine in placid contentment, seemingly pleased with him- 
self and all the world besides. Or you can note the younger dandy 
from "dear h'old Lunnon," twirling his mustache and giving his 
attention to the farcical cartoons of Punch or the elaborate illus- 
trations of the Graphic and Sphere. 

The city is well supplied with public buildings which, apart from 
the useful and necessary purposes they serve, add much to the attrac- 
tiveness of the place. These include two public libraries, well 
stocked with a goodly collection of historical and miscellaneous 
works, and a museum of natural history, in which are stored valu- 
able relics of the past as well as rare specimens of the fauna and 
flora of the country ; there are also curios from other lands and 
exhibits of the geological formation of the continent. Eighteen 
churches give the inhabitants opportunity of religious worship to 
which they are naturally inclined, for Chile is a land of intense 
devotion and loyalty to the doctrines handed down through cen- 
turies of vicissitudes from father to son, since the days when the 
Spanish invaders planted the Cross on the mountain-tops and called 
on the brown-skinned Children of the Sun to bow down in lowly 
reverence before the symbol of Christian redemption. 

Four of the churches are consecrated to Protestant worship, 
though the state religion and that of the vast bulk of the people is 
Roman Catholic. These churches are but sparsely attended, and the 
worshipers are almost exclusively composed of foreigners, especially 
English. Protestant missionary zeal has tried and is trying to make 
converts to its faith, but with little success so far. The priests 
have an all-powerful influence over the people, and old traditions 
are adhered to with an unyielding tenacity. 

Four hospitals minister tu the wants of the sick and injured, and 
the physicians and surgeons attached to these are well qualified in 
their profession and quite up to date in the modern march of medical 
and surgical science. 

The dead are not forgotten, a loving care follows them to the 
tomb. There are three beautiful cemeteries and tnese silent God's 
acres are adorned with all the loveliness which Art can lend to 



CHIEF WESTERN SEAPORT 313 

Nature. They are most artistically laid out, and flowers — the tender 
and affectionate tribute of the living to the dead, emblematic of 
hope and happiness — are everywhere. Tropical exotics seem to be 
a fitting incense for the souls who have gone before. Chaste and 
beautiful monuments ,many of them very expensive, guard the graves 
of the loved ones, typifying the love and lasting consideration of 
those who are left behind. In this connection I should say that 
*nany funerals in Valparaiso take place by night. There is a city 
ordinance which compels sepulture within twenty-four hours after 
death, consequently many who die have to be borne to the grave 
in the hours of darkness. Such funerals present weird and curious 
sight, with the flaring torches of the attendants, the variegated 
robes of the priests, and the chanting of the mourners which, in a 
measure, reminded me of the drear and unearthly Irish caoine 
(keen) I had heard once in a remote district of Ireland when the 
old women poured forth their wailings of grief in that weird, wild 
cry whose sad and sorrowful refrain almost stills the heart with 
its cadence of woe and desolation. 

The foreigner sees many unaccustomed sights on the streets of 
Valparaiso. In my many walks, I observed strange customs and 
manners, at least strange to me. For instance, the milkman came 
along with his horse or mule to which was attached a wooden frame, 
from which dangled queer shaped tin cans held by rawhide and from 
which he ladled out the fluid to his customers. But this kind of 
milkman is not the rarest to be seen on the streets. There are others 
who drive before them cows, mares, asses and even goats for the 
purposes of milking the animals when a call arises for a supply. The 
milk is certainly fresh and, moreover, there is no chance of water- 
ing it under the scrutinizing eyes of the purchasers, therefore the 
custom has its advtanges. 

Other street sellers who excite the curiosity of strangers are the 
bread-men, who traverse the city from door to door on horseback, 
the bread being carried in two large hide panniers on either side 
of the horse, and which take up so much space that pedestrians find 
some difficulty in passing by in the narrow thoroughfares. 

Most of the side streets are narrow and irregular, and these are 
crowded with men and women of the poorer element, and in addi- 
tion children and dogs ad nauseam. The motley array of humans 
and canines jar refined feelings, and are repulsive to the susceptibili- 
ties of the fastidious tourist. In fact there are some very repellent 
aspects in these congested quarters. As you pass along you may see 



314 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

members of families arranging their toilets, oblivious of outside eyes 
and regardless of the common laws of decency. Visitors do not sur- 
prise them in the least or turn them from the ordinary tenor of their 
ways. To my disgust I saw several engaged in examining or 
rather searching the heads of their friends for insects of the 
genus pediculus capitis. Though averse to terms which seem to 
smack of pedantry I am constrained to give the scientific name to 
the itch parasite for which polite and clean communities have 
such a loathing. Of course here as elsewhere filth engenders the 
disgusting pest. One is glad to get away from these scenes to the 
wide and cleanly thoroughfares, such as the Avenida Brazil, once a 
shaded boulevard, but now a fashionable promenade, where the 
social life of the city can be seen at its best, especially in the 
evenings. 

The hill promenades, especially the one to the naval academy, are 
delightful and are also much frequented by the elite of the city. 
Probably no other situation in the world affords a more charming 
view than can be seen from these hilly eminences, particularly when 
the rays of the western sun is gilding the bay in a sheen of 
golden splendor, intermingled here and there with silvery streaks 
as some vessel or craft cuts the waters, leaving in its wake a line 
of whitened color to diversify and add attraction to the natural pic- 
turesqueness of the scene. It is a very luxury to live and breathe 
in this soft and gentle sunlight, which seems to wrap city and land 
and water in a fond embrace ere taking farewell for the night of 
the places over which it has passed in its sloping course to the hori- 
zon that shuts it out from their clasp till the dawn of another day. 
Amid such beauty and such scenery so far above the dust and 
tumult and traffic of the busy city lying beneath, one forgets the 
petty cares of the world and entertains thoughts of higher things 
which lift up the soul to a plane far beyond the sordid considerations 
of earth and the fleeting affairs of men. But the visitor cannot long 
indulge in his own communings and day-dreams gazing down from 
the hilltops, — the busy life of the city calls him, the throbbing 
streets, the thronged wharves where a world's commerce is un- 
loading, the bustling marts, the eager crowds of men and women 
each intent upon individual pursuits — all these invite the sight- 
seers to a study of the panorama of the active life around them. 

Valparaiso has at present a population of about 150,000, and 
is by far the busiest and most important port on the west coast 
of the Americas from the Golden Gate to the Golden Horn. Its 




OLD HOUSES, VALPARAISO 




A RAVINE. VALPARAISO 



CHIEF WESTERN SEAPORT 317 

commerce amounts to $175,000,000 annually. It is the terminus 
of several European lines of steamers via the strait of Magellan 
as well as many lines from Panama. When the Canal is opened 
the trade is sure to be enormously increased. The exports now 
include barley, wheat, beans, bran, hay, clover-seed and a number 
of other products of the field, for there is a rich agricultural 
country behind, and Valparaiso is the port of outlet. Then there 
are many maufactories in and around the city which add to the 
imports. These include foundries and machine shops, shoe factor- 
ies, tanneries, stearine candle works, soap and perfumery works, 
flour mills, woodworking plants, carriage and furniture manufact- 
ories, aerated water concerns, chocolate products and chemical and 
drug supplies. 

The transportation of merchandise from the factories to the 
wharves and of nearly all small freight to objective points through- 
out the city is effected by means of enormous ox-carts drawn 
by two yoke of animals. These go lumbering along, ponderous 
and unsightly, and at times the patient oxen have much to do 
in hauling the heavy loads when a steep incline is encountered. 

As to family "turn-outs" for pleasure-driving, I am sorry to 
say the Valparaisans cannot be congratulated on their conveyances, 
for far from being modern, they are primitive in the extreme, 
and seem to fit the descriptions we have of the kind our great- 
great-grandfathers used, long before the spring balance was in- 
vented and when spoked wheels had just come into service. 

Nearly everybody has heard of the girl conductors on the street 
cars. This innovation was brought about during the war with 
Peru when the army required the services of all able-bodied men. 
These conductors, or rather conductresses, serve the purpose very 
well, are quick, alert, attentive and obliging. The uniforms con- 
sist of short blue skirts and bodices, white aprons and sailor hats, 
and these give the young women quite a natty and pretty appear- 
ance. But the girls are pretty in themselves. Indeed it seems 
that only handsome ones are chosen for the work, and whether 
this is to draw masculine traffic or for the sake of effect, I know 
not. At any rate I do know that the cars are almost constantly 
filled with young men, and this fact looks rather suspicious under 
the circumstances. "Where there is honey, there will the bee go." 
The cars are "double-deckers" and the fare is very cheap which, 
perhaps, is another incentive for the large patronage of these street 
railways. A ride costs but five cents, which is equivalent to about 



318 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

a cent-and-a-quarter of United States money. It may be here 
stated that the currency of Chile is subject to fluctuation, and 
this is a drawback to the commercial prosperity of the country. 
The unit of value is the peso, generally worth about 25 cents, but 
sometimes it goes up as high as 40 cents and comes down as low as 
15 cents. 

Most of the streets of Valparaiso are paved with Belgian blocks 
and the side-walks are well flagged. All are lighted by electricity, 
the great swinging arc lamps on the higher eminences giving a 
very romantic effect at night. Seen from the harbor these lights 
on the darkling slope of the mountain face appear in rows one 
above the other, presenting such a unique picture that it lingers 
long in memory. To me it looked like a scene from some land 
of enchantment, conjured up by magicial art to dazzle and entrance. 

The view from the harbor is always captivating, whether by night 
or day. In the daytime, when the atmosphere is clear and the vault 
of the heavens cloudless, the serrated ridges and whitish gray sum- 
mits of the mighty backbone of the continent can be seen stand- 
ing out in relief against the sky-line, the hoary head of Acon- 
cagua, the giant of the Andes, the culminating peak of the great 
range, towering above all, seemingly proclaiming iself the mon- 
arch of mountains, crowned by the everlasting snows of time. 

The harbor is always a scene of bustle and confusion. Boxes, 
bales and crates of merchandise litter almost every corner, and 
horses, mules, donkeys, drays, wagons and carts add to the general 
bustle which, however, shows the busy life of the place and its im- 
portance as a commercial port. The flags of half a dozen nations 
can be seen on the bay almost any day in the year. Large vessels 
have to anchor off the shore in from 100 to 180 feet of water, and 
are loaded and discharged by lighters. Hundreds of these lighters 
can be seen plying to and fro. 

The bay forms a crescent, protected on the south and west by 
low headlands and a recently completed breakwater. The northern 
side is fully exposed, which renders shipping dangerous and some- 
times impossible when the "Northers," as they are called there, 
sweep down on the place in the winter months. 

Encircling the beach is an embankment of masonry called the 
Malecon, which considerably broadens the water-front and at the 
same time serves as a protection from the sea. 

Passengers are not allowed to land nor can boatmen board the 
vessel until the captain of the port makes his inspection and gives 



CHIEF WESTERN SEAPORT 319 

a permit. This is the rule of the Customs. The morning our 
steamer came into the harbor we were glad to get through this 
official ceremony. After our belongings were examined we were 
allowed to land. What looked like a Spanish Armada in miniature 
surrounded our vessel and we were fortunate in getting one of the 
government boats to take us ashore. 

I put up at the Royal Hotel during my visit and I must say 
I found the cuisine and general arrangements very good, and in 
addition the attendants were polite and abliging. The charge was 
moderate. For two dollars gold per day one can secure good ac- 
comodations, much better in fact than in the hostelries of Peru at 
three times the amount. The tables never lack a supply of fresh 
vegetables and fruits. These come up from the Quillatta valley, 
some forty miles distant. I visited the markets where these prod- 
ucts were bought, and found everything very nice and clean. I 
saw delicious pears, peaches and plums and many other varieties 
equally pleasing. 

The water is good, sparkling and clear, and free from any kind 
of sediments or germ life. It is supplied by the Penuelas water- 
works, the reservoir of which is situated on the Placilla plateau, 
eleven miles from the city ; the circumference of this reservoir 
is thirty-four miles and its capacity twenty billion gallons. Pip- 
ing, thirty inches in diameter, conveys the water from it to filter- 
beds 500 feet below, which are connected with the main aque- 
duct that conveys the fluid to the distributing tank on Vigia 
Hill, the extreme west of the elevations surrounding the city. 

The visitor can have a pleasant enough time in Valparaiso if 
he goes about it in the right way and makes an effort to adapt 
and comport himself to his environments and the people with whom 
he comes in contact. As a general rule the Chileans, or Chillenos 
as some prefer to call them, are a free people and easy to get along 
with when one understands their ways. Of course, as has been said, 
there is a large foreign element with the German predominating 
and the British a close second. There are also many Italians and 
a goodly number of French, but not many North Americans. A 
casual walk through the streets at once convinces the visitor 
that the Anglo-Saxon is the prevalent type of foreigner. Half the 
women you meet are of this type, with blonde hair, which is rather 
refreshing after one has been accustomed to nothing but dark tresses 
among the belles of the republic lying to the north. The ladies of 
Chile affect modern costumes more than those of any of the other 



320 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

South American countries. The shops of Valparaiso are replete 
with the latest Parisian modes and fashions. However, the black 
manta, with its edging of lace, always remains in favor and may be 
called the national costume. It is becoming to every figure — the 
angular or embonpoint, the lean or the adipose, the short or the tall; 
it sets off a beautiful shape and it hides the blemishes of a defective 
one. In fact, it makes the old look young, the young graceful, the 
stout slender, and the thin slyph-like and pleasing. Nearly all wear 
it to church in the mornings. 

Those who can speak only English can get along very well at 
the hotels, in the marts and on the streets, for that medium of speech 
is widely used, though Spanish is the official language. I had 
little occasion to address any one in Spanish. Of course the news- 
papers are printed in Spanish, also the street signs and general ad- 
vertisements. There are ten newspapers altogether in the city, the 
principal and best being El Mer curio, which also publishes an edi- 
tion at Santiago. 

The climate of Valparaiso is fine, I was almost going to say 
ideal. The mean annual temperature is 57.6 degrees ; the mean 
of the coldest month is 52.8 degrees and of the warmest 63 degrees F. 
There are no scorching days and no intensely cold ones, and the air 
is always soft, pleasant and invigorating. 

I have already said that Valparaiso has scarcely as yet re- 
covered from the effects of the earthquake of 1906. That was a 
terrible blow, in fact the worst receiveed in the checkered history 
of the city. It had been dealt hard knocks before and received 
many wounds. In its infancy Drake sacked it in 1578; Hawkins, 
the Buccaneer, swooped down on it in 1598; the Dutch pirate, Van 
Noort, plundered it in 1600; earthquakes and tidal waves ravaged 
it in 1730, 1822, 1839, 1851 and 1873; fire decimated it in 1858. 
It also suffered horribly in the Balmaceda revolution, but its crown- 
ing disaster occurred, on the evening of August 16, 1906, when 
a fearful earthquake exerted such a force of devastation that it 
wiped out hundreds, some say thousands of lives, besides destroy- 
ing over $100,000,000 worth of property. Coming so soon after 
the San Francisco horror the Valparaiso disaster shocked the civ- 
ilzed world. 

South America has been the scene of some dreadful cataclysms 
of nature, but probably the most awful visitation in its history was 
this earthquake. Thousands of buildings were demolished ; about 
thirty blocks of houses, three to five stories high, in the Avenida 




NTCHE CEMETERY, VALPARAISO 




TRAINING SHIP, NAVAL COLLEGE, VALPARAISO 



321 



CHIEF WESTERN SEAPORT 323 

Brazil alone, fell with a thunderous crash, killing scores and maim- 
ing hundreds. The gas, electric light and water mains were snapped 
and the city plunged in Cimmerian darkness — a prey to fire and 
flood. Fully ninety per cent, of the houses are said to have been 
destroyed. The condition of the wretched people became pitiable. 
Some 60,000 encamped on the hills above the city without food or 
clothing. Others took refuge in the shipping in the bay until the 
terrible commotion passed. Think of it ! So many lives lost in a 
city of only 150,000 and over $100,000,000 worth of property de- 
stroyed ! Think of the staggering blow to a country with only 
four million inhabitants ! San Francisco, when it was wiped out, 
had the richest country in the world to fall back upon, and upward 
of 20,000,000 people throughout the country pledged themselves 
to rebuild it. Valparaiso had no such hope, but nevertheless it 
has risen valiantly up again from the ruins of the terrible past, 
and promises to be soon greater and better than ever. All credit 
to its spirit and undaunted courage, and success to its efforts ! 

Before leaving the neighborhood we paid a visit to Vina Del Mar 
(vineyard of the sea), seven miles distant from the city. This is 
a favorite resort in the summer months and contains some fine villas 
and mansions of the wealthy citizens who come out here to spend 
the enjoyable season. It may be styled the Newport of Chile, for 
it is a gay place and society is seen at its best. There is much 
sport carried on in the way of horse-racing, polo, tennis and golf. 
It lies in a kind of valley upon an arm of the sea which is watered 
by a small stream. There are several posados or eating houses, 
and a large hotel which does a thriving business in the height of the 
season. We were struck with the neatness and beauty of the flower- 
beds in front of the residences, as they seemed to give a life and 
freshness to the place. We could only wish that we had such at 
home, but how long could they be kept intact from the ruthless, 
vandalizing tresspassers in our northern resorts ! There is one 
drawback to this really delightful retreat, and that is a large sugar 
refinery which belches forth volumes of black and poisonous smoke 
that hangs like a pall over the resort, obscuring at times the beauti- 
ful marine view and the range of violet colored hills in the dis- 
tance. 

Returning, our road ran for a short course over the foot of a 
rocky cliff along the shore of the ever restless sea. As we looked 
out from the train across the water our vision rested upon a 
scene of sublime beauty that alone would have repaid us for coming 



324 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

to Chile. The sun was sinking in the west, his last crimson rays 
flashing over the waters of the hay of Valparaiso. But even as we 
looked the glory of the scene faded, the sun went down beneath the 
horizon and the approaching city became pale and phantom-like in 
the deepening twilight. 

Next morning we bade adios to the waters of the Pacific and 
started across the mighty Andes on our way to Santiago. 




NAVAL, MONUMENT, VALPARAISO 



CHAPTER XIII 



THE CAPITAL OF CHILE 



SANTIAGO, GEM OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 

We left Valparaiso by an early morning train with quite a large 
number of passengers on board, cosmopolitan and native. From the 
first stretch of road skirting the harbor, the waters of the bay 
flecked with boats of many nationalities, lay glittering in the soft 
light forming a very pretty and appealing picture as the undulating 
motion of the wavelets flashed back the rays of the ascending sun 
in streamers of glinting glory which lent such life and loveliness 
and charm to the place that we could not resist looking back until, 
the scene receded into the distance of space as we sped onward on 
our journey. Soon we came to parched and brown fields lying on 
either side of the track, presenting an unpleasant contrast to the sea- 
views we had just left behind. These dreary fields, however, were 
relieved by little streams here and there, on the banks of which 
grew graceful weeping willows, the appearance of their foliage 
bringing to my mind the queer simile of children's hair cut in Dutch 
fashion, that is, in circular form, leaving an overhanging eave above 
the neck. In some places we could see patches of cacti, their spines 
bristling like the "quills of the fretful porcupine," in others matted 
shrubs and stunted trees resembling old crab-bushes or dwarfed 
specimens of the apple variety. Now and then great ox-carts, 
hauled by weary, yet patient animals, lumbered along some rude 
road like remnants of a camel caravan making track through an 
African desert. The scenery, however, was not dreary and mo- 
notonous all the way — there were some vistas and views to arouse 
the spirits and make one take an interest in the journey. The 
snowy summits of the Andean peaks showed themselves in the dis- 
tance looking like gray nightcaps on the brow of Age. The crest of 

327 



328 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

the towering Aconcagua can be seen distinctly nearly the entire 
distance. 

The total length of the railroad between Valparaiso and Santiago, 
as surveyed, is 122 miles, though the journey over it seems to war- 
rant its being much longer. It was commenced in 1852 and is said 
to have cost in the neighborhood of $5,500,000, or about $25,000 
for each mile of construction. A very mint of money has been sunk 
in these Andean systems of travel and transportation, for the dif- 
ficulties in the way of making them were enormous, taxing mocr«rn 
science and engineering to the limit. However, the obstacles in 
constructing this branch were not so many nor so hard to over- 
come as those of the Oroya track. It is run on the English plan and 
is similar in equipment and system of management to most of the 
European lines. The engine which hauled the train was of Eng- 
lish make, but the Pullman car in which we rode was turned out in 
America. 

After reaching an elevation of some two thousand feet above 
sea-level, a plain, well-watered and fertile, comes into view, in the 
midst of which is Santiago, the metropolitan city of the Andes and 
the gem of the southern Pacific slope, a city of over 400,000 
inhabitants, more than one-tenth the entire population of the Re- 
public of Chile. 

Nearing the city the sides of the road for a considerable dis- 
tance are lined with ditches bordered by mud walls, fashioned from 
the ooze and earth taken out in the ditch-making. These walls are 
of uniform thickness and height as the mud which forms them is 
cast into a frame of the required dimensions and allowed to harden 
before the framework is taken away. In some places they are roofed 
with tile. They make excellent fencing, for owing to the warm 
climate there is no frost to crack them. Under existing conditions 
they stand the weather remarkably well and last a long time. In 
addition to these boundary walls long rows of poplars, shooting up 
in stately height, presented a vista in perspective which reminded 
us somewhat of a long-drawn out cathedral cloister or church 
aisle. Other fences along this part of the route consisted of stakes, 
interlaced with the pliant rods of "Espino" bushes. 

Occasionally we passed a "rancho," or farm-house, built with 
adobe, thatched with straw or roofed with tile and surrounded by 
little orchards of fruit-trees. A few country seats, residences of the 
"haciendados," or landed proprietors, added an attraction to the 
landscape and suggested comfort and easy circumstances. 




BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF SANTIAGO FROM SANTA LUCIA 




AVEXIDA DELICIAS, SANTIAGO 



GEM OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 331 

After a five hours' ride, we arrived at the Central Estacione, from 
which we were driven to the Gran Hotel de Francia, overlooking 
the Plaza des Armes, which may be termed the peripheral center of 
the Chilean capital. Round about are the principal streets and 
many of the public buildings. On one corner is the Cathedral, on 
another the Post-office, while close by are numerous portals or 
corridors occupied by well-filled booths and walled at the back with 
inviting shops which make a fine display of all kinds of goods to 
be found in an up-to-date and progressive city. The Plaza itself 
is a pleasant little park beautified with tropical plants, flowers, palm 
trees and fountains. 

The hotel we selected was a very well-equipped hostelry and 
our wants were catered to by courteous and obliging attendants. 
There are several other good establishments of this kind, so the 
traveler need have no apprehension on the score of accomodation in 
visiting this really delightful old Spanish city nestling in the shelter 
of the mighty mountains. 

I had anticipated an interesting time. Often I had pictured 
this historic place in imagination and fondly dwelt on the possi- 
bilities it would reveal. Now the reality was achieved. There it lay 
before us in its calm dignity, in its peaceful beauty, in its captivating 
charm, in its wealth of memories — the city which Valdivia founded 
in the sixteenth century and named after the patron saint of Spain, 
long years before the English mapped out their Jamestown on 
Virginian soil, long before the pilgrims of the Mayflozver sailed into 
Plymouth Bay. The red men of the great Northland were run- 
ning about in primitive wildness on Manhattan Island, and neither 
gay old Petrus Stuyvesant with his wooden leg nor New Amster- 
dam with its Dutch colony had been heard of when the civi- 
lization of ancient Castile planted its banners on the rock of Santa 
Lucia. 

Speaking of Santa Lucia let me commence the description at this 
wonderful landmark standing up like a finger-post of Time pointing 
to the sights and scenes, the life and loveliness, the gaiety and 
grandeur, the houses and hollows, the sreets and squares, the spires 
and steeples, the domes and doorways, the marks and monuments 
of this historic city. It is appropriate that I should begin here, 
for it was from this spot that the early settlement sprang which was 
to grow into this magnificent and thriving commonwealth of the 
present day. Valdivia erected a stronghold on the rock and then 
commenced to build at its base, laying out the squares with lines 



332 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

running north and south, east and west with studied regularity. 
The rock itself stands at one side of the city and is a huge mass ris- 
ing up to a height of over five hundred feet, or about as high as the 
Washington Monument. It is one of the most interesting freaks of 
nature in the world. Some geologists are of the opinion that it is 
of volcanic origin and others will have it that it was deposited by 
some wandering iceberg in a remote age on the plain where it has 
since stood. For miles around there is no other elevation, and this 
would scarcely be the case had vocanic action been at work, there- 
fore, most people lean to the iceberg theory, but an ordinary layman, 
with the credulity of ignorance on the subject, might be inclined to 
believe that it dropped from the clouds. 

The great fortress on the top commanded the surrounding plain 
with its guns, but this was removed and the place given over to 
the sepulture of those forbidden burial in consecrated ground, in 
which class were included, besides infidels, Protestants and Jews. 
The bones of these unfortunates were finally taken up and dumped 
in a corner of one of the Catholic cemeteries as "exiles from both 
heaven and earth." 

In 1852 the United States Astronomical Expedition used the 
place for observations. After the departure of this expedition 
Benjamin Vicuna McKenna, a public-spirited and wealthy citizen, 
set about beautifying the rock and surroundings. He raised sub- 
scriptions for the purpose and spent much of his own money 
That he succeded well in his efforts is testified to by the appearance 
of the place to-day, and that the people appreciated what he did is 
shown in the honor conferred on his remains which lie buried in 
a little chapel on the summit. In fact McKenna did all that could 
be done by man to supplement nature and make of Santa Lucia 
a spot fit for an artist's dream of loveliness. Several acres around 
the base and up the sides were converted into a park which is one of 
the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful on earth. I think its 
grandeur and charm are unparalleled by any othe place in the world 
set aside for such purpose. I have looked on no fairer, rarer 
scene anywhere else on my travels, though I have wandered in 
many lands and have seen the boasted beauties, natural and artificial, 
they possess. Flowers and fountains, arbors and arborage, beds and 
bowers, banks and balconies, grottoes and galleries, gardens and 
greeneries, walks and windings, terraces and turnings, parapets and 
pillars, statues and stonework, — all combine to give it an attraction 
which irresistibly appeals to all. Winding paths lead to the jagged 



u ^ 




VIEW FROM SANTA LUCIA 




SANTA LUCIA PARK 



GEM OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 335 

summit and these are enclosed by low walls festooned and trellised 
by rare bushes and creeping plants ; great multi-colored blossoms 
peep out from corners and crannies at every turn ; ferns and tropical 
exotics extend their fronds and petals in lulxuriant profusion; eu- 
calypti trees and palms raise their lofty stems like guardian genii 
keeping guard over a bower of beauty. The whole is a scene of 
light and coloring truly indescribable, a galaxy of glory, a veritable 
garden of the gods, an earthly Eden where the restless soul of man 
might linger in contentment finding solace and peace and joy away 
from the world and its sordid considerations. The fragrances and 
perfumes distilled and exhaled from shrub and flower and plant and 
tree as they come with the breath of morning or float on the zephyrs 
of evening seem not like the scents or smells of earth, but rather 
like what one might fancy as the waftings of incense from angel 
altars in some celestial shrine beyond the pale of mortals. 

What a view from the top of the rock! No pen can describe it 
adequately, nor brush transfer it to canvas. Never shall it be 
erased from the tablet of memory. In imagination I behold it 
as plainly as when I looked upon it in reality — the city below 
with its vast expanse of red-tiled roof, and the plains beyond in 
their rich growth of green, and in the distance the snow-capped 
peaks of the Andes picked out in hazy blue. The streets, the 
squares, the tree-lined avenues, the parks, the towers and domes, 
the cupolas and spires of the churches scattered here and there, the 
busy scenes of life and activity, lay before one like a fairy pano- 
rama on which the eyes gaze in rapturous delight. I felt as if 
I were looking upon some enchanted scene called forth by ma- 
gician's wand and that if I turned away it would dissolve into airy 
nothingness like the "baseless fabric of a dream" never to return. 
So I looked upon it long and lingeringly, loath to relinquish such 
a view and still more unwilling to leave Santa Lucia. Santa Lucia ! 
the very name is synonymous with enchantment. And is it not 
euphonic, does it not strike the ear with a peculiar pleasantness of 
sonance as if harmonizing with some fond recollection, something 
that once thrilled the heart and called up the tenderest emotions of 
the soul ? 

As I stood on its crest I heard the words of the name spoken 
in the soft accents of the Spanish tone by a passing senorita and 
their utterances seemed like liquid music, the refrain of which is 
still echoing in the chambers of memory. Reluctantly, indeed, I 
had to say Vale to beautiful Santa Lucia and give attention to 



336 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

other scenes of interest in this wonderfful city of the Southland. 

The Alameda, a magnificent pathway, stretches from Santa Lucia 
to the farthest end of the city, a distance of over three miles leading 
out to the parks known as Quinta Normal and Cousino. It is three 
hundred feet wide and has a roadway on either side. In the center 
is a promenade bordered by gurgling streams of clear mountain 
water and shaded by rows of great poplar trees which form an 
overhead arbor of such density as to afford excellent protection from 
the rays of the sun. Along this promenade are stone seats at short 
intervals for pedestrians to rest when tired from their walking exer- 
tions, and also many statues of heroes and others who have played 
prominent parts in the history of the country, for Chile is fond of 
perpetuating in bronze and marble her distinguished sons, though 
she may have been far from kind to some of to them when alive. In- 
deed one or two victims of assassination and a few who were sent 
into exile are called to memory in this way, which seems much of a 
parody on the fate meted out to them. 

In the early evenings, from about three to five o'clock the Alameda 
is crowded with pedestrians, while the side roads are taken up 
with the carriages of the wealthier class, reminding one of the turn- 
outs of New T York's fashionable element on the driveways of Central 
Park in the summer evening, minus the lines of honking autos and 
screaming taxis to frighten peaceful citizens in crossing the walks. 
Of course there are some automobiles in the procession, but 
broughams and victorias predominate. During the season bands 
of musicians discourse popular airs, and altogether the scene is 
gay and inspirating and typical of the pleasant life of the people 

Fronting the Alameda are many of the great show palaces of the 
place, splendid residences which bespeak wealth and taste. Though 
the style of construction for the most part is after the old Spanish 
model, they call to mind showy chateaux along the Parisian boule- 
vard. Of course all have the invariable patio or center court with 
its fountain and flowers. Some are so large that they contain fifty 
good-sized rooms. The ceilings are high, giving opportunity for 
decorative effect, though most of the houses are not over these 
story,, some only two. As to cost and furnisbings many of these 
great piles can vie with the best of the Old World. Few of the 
ducal residences of Grosvenor Square, or the princely homes along 
the Unter den Linden, or the gilded palaces of the Champs Elysees 
can eclipse in grandeur and appurtenances these millionaire mansions 
of the Chilean capital. The massive building which Henry Meiggs 



GEM OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 337 

here erected cost millions, every stone and brick and timber in it 
having to be imported at lavish expense. It was a sample of money 
extravagance worthy of old Rome in her most spendthrift days. It 
has fallen to decay, as no one has come forward willing enough or 
ambitious enough or perhaps wealthy enough to fit it up in keeping 
with its former splendors and richness of details. Another gorgeous 
example of Southern prodigality is shown in the house erected by 
the late Senora Isadora Cousino. It resembles some elaborate public 
building rather than a private home. The decorations and furnish- 
ings were on the costliest scale, befitting a royal palace or kingly 
residence. This lady was famed for her large expenditures. The 
immense sums she lavished on display and gave to public enter- 
prises formed a subject for gossip not only in Chile but over all 
South America and in other lands. She was the Hetty Green of her 
time as far as the accumulation of vast money was concerned, but 
she had none of the close-fisted characteristics of the Northern mil- 
lionairess. She spent and spent royally; enormously rich in her 
own right she married the richest man in Chile, and his money and 
possessions became hers at his death. She invested millions in all 
kinds of real estate — lands, houses, railroads, mines, steamships 
and herds of cattle. She loved grandeur and the good things of life, 
and spent like a queen to gratify her tastes and ambitions. Be- 
sides her town house she had an estancia at Macul, about an hour's 
ride from Santiago, which rivaled any European principality. She 
presented the city with the beautiful Cousino Park, containing sev- 
eral thousand acres. This is the popular playground of the com- 
mon people, a place which affords entertainment and amusement 
for thousands of the working classes. There are many kinds of 
games and forms of merrymaking, and when in full swing in the 
season the place presents a very animated scene with its fun-seeking 
crowds, gay colors, bands of music, booths and refreshment stands 
and other addenda characteristic of such resorts. Here the visitor 
can see at its best or maybe worst, the famous national dance of 
Chile — some might be inclined to call it infamous — called the cuaca, 
which is pronounced quaker. The couchee-couchee of Coney Island 
in its halcyon days was tame when compared to it. Even the 
turkey trot and tango of New York's Great White Way would 
be but mild evolutions beside it. If Mr. Roosevelt saw it during 
his late visit he probably declared, in his emphatic way, that it beats 
both to a frazzle. It is a sort of can-can, in which the male part- 
ners do most of the high kicking, though when the fun waxes fast 



338 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

and furious, the females are nothing backward in emulating the 
antics and gyrations of the other sex. It is danced by the couples 
pairing off, one set facing the other; each man and woman or youth 
and maiden, as the case may be, waves a handkerchief above their 
heads as they circle and gyrate and caper around in curves and 
postures intended to display the suppleness of the limbs. The dance 
is accompanied by the thrumming of guitars and mandolins by 
musicians who sit on benches beside the arena of performance. It 
usually ends in a wild carousal of merriment when all decorum is 
thrown to the winds in a bedlam of shouts, laughter and catcalls, 
while the performers embrace in the most promiscuous manner, 
after which they retire to the tents to indulge in chica and cool off 
after their arduous exercise. 

I have not introduced a description of this dance for the pur- 
pose of reflecting in any way on the morals of the common people, 
for I must say they are a good, well-conducted class in general, 
loyal to time-honored institutions, devoted to their duties, attached 
to their home interests and sincere in their actions. The women, 
as a rule, are modest and retiring and sensitive as to their good 
name ; they are simply fun-loving for the sake of fun, and any seem- 
ing oustepping of the strict bounds of feminine decorum and be- 
haviour may be set down to their light spirits and gay nature, and not 
to any desire or intention of transgressing the laws of propriety. 
I merely bring in the dance to illustrate a custom of the country, 
one, however, which I should be glad to see relegated to the history 
of the past, as it detracts from the present. 

A form of amusement much patronized in Cousino Park is 
horse-racing. There is a track known as the "Club Hippico," which 
is crowded on Sunday afternoons. The Chillenos take much inte- 
rest in horses and horse-breeding, and turn out some very fine 
animals. 

Although the very wealthy citizens of Santiago prefer the boule- 
vard of the Alameda to display their fine residences, there are 
many good houses on the side-streets, which, if not so pretentious 
and elaborate, are striking and aristocratic. Very few are over two 
stories, a circumstance that of course conduces to safety in time of 
earthquakes. They have the wide Spanish entrances guarded by 
great iron gateways, high and wide, through which the largest wag- 
ons and carriages can readily pass. 

The insides of these houses are furnished in keeping with the 
wealth and social standing of the owners. There are huge mirrors, 




THE ALAMEDA, SANTIAGO 




LADIES IN MANTAS 



339 



GEM OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 341 

beautiful statues, costly paintings, rare bric-a-brac, gorgeous tapes- 
tries and portieres, curtains and hangings of the most expensive 
weaves — the products of Eastern looms. There are ball-rooms, 
billiard-rooms, reception-rooms, guest-rooms, in addition to the liv- 
ing-rooms, and all furnished with the richest paraphernalia to suit 
the uses to which the apartments are devoted. Some have Moorish 
bath-rooms with fountains playing in vari-colored lights, giving an 
effect of enchantment such as we read about in the legends of 
Oriental lands. Much of the furniture is plated in gold leaf, and 
gold and silver vessels and ornaments are displayed, embossed and 
studded with diamonds and other rare stones. 

A noticeable feature of the buildings on both sides of the Plaza 
des Armes is the old quaint portales, so like what one sees in 
the Moorish towns of Estramadura and Andalusia. When I saw 
them my thoughts flew back to the dreamy homes of southern Spain 
and I recalled pleasant days spent in wandering through that 
sunny land. 

Within these portales are the booths, flanked by fine shops filled 
with as wide a variety of merchandise and of as good a quality as 
can be found in Paris, London or New York. Tiaras of diamonds, 
ropes of pearls, brooches, bangles, bracelets, rings and trinkets flash 
in the windows inviting purchase. The costliest silks, satins, bro- 
cades and laces are displayed and find ready sales, for the ladies 
of Santiago are extremely fastidious and pride themselves on up- 
to-date and elegant toilets. Many of the creations are as good as 
any Worth of Redfern can turn out. In most places one must pay 
a high price for a high-class article; this is the case in Santiago. 
The goods seem dear to a foreigner, but when the relative value of 
money is considered they are no dearer than at home. Thus a lady's 
hat may be marked $100, but that is not much over $30 of our 
money. The stores in the portales round the Plaza are not so large 
as those a block further along near the corner of Ahumada and 
Huerfanos. The latter are pretentious establishments and modern 
in every detail. There are many shoppers during the day. The 
opulent ladies roll up in their coaches and broughams and even auto- 
mobiles, for the last mentioned are now ubiquitous and Santiago can 
boast quite a number. The poorer women dressed in black skirts 
and with the customary mantas over their heads and shoulders, shop 
on foot, and are always accompanied by friends or companions. A 
woman is scarcely ever seen alone. 

Santiago has a number of fine public buildings. Perhaps the 



342 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

best of these is the Palace of Congress, which covers an entire 
square and is of modern classical construction similar to many of 
the public buildings in the United States. The National Library 
opposite, is an imposing structure and contains a fine collection of 
books. The City Hall, the Palace of Justice and the Army Build- 
ing are other show-places which the Santiagoan points out to the 
visitor with pride as indicative of the prestige and importance of his 
city. The President's residence is a fine three-story structure with 
imposing surroundings. It contains the offices of many of the 
Government departments. The Opera House is a municipal institu- 
tion and is claimed to be the finest structure in America. It is built 
after the European style with four balconies supported by brackets, 
so that there are no pillars to obstruct the view. The boxes are 
luxuriously upholstered. Opera is given several nights a week 
during the season, generally by Italian companies brought over for 
the purpose. The people are as familiar with "Trovatore" and 
"La Tosca" as the beau-monde of New York's Fifth Avenue. Not 
alone is the building free, but a good sum is given by the govern- 
ment to the management to secure the best talent. Between the 
acts the gay youths drift down to the orchestra rail and put up their 
glasses to scan the boxes, and when the performance is over they 
linger in the large foyer to watch the sehoras file out in the hope 
that they may catch a glance from the dark eyes or a smile from the 
ruby lips of some witching damsel. 

There are many churches in Santiago. The Cathedral is the most 
imposing of all. It is of time-worn gray granite and fronts on the 
Plaza. I happened to be in the city during Holy Week, and there- 
fore had an opportunity of observing religious fervor at its greatest 
intensity. When good Friday came a solemn hush seemed to pass 
over the place, and a silence followed which was almost oppressive. 
Business, for the most part, was suspended and the stores closed. 
Thousands of women in funereal garbs crowded the streets as they 
silently made their way to the different churches. The great Jesuit 
basilica seemed the center of attraction. When the devotions 
inside this and other churches were over, tens of thousands of men 
and women lined the sidewalks, the men in bared heads, while great 
floats were borne along on the shoulders of perspiring carriers, each 
bearing some allegorical representation or scene emblematic of the 
different stages of life of the Saviour, from His first public appear- 
ance to His crucifixion on the Cross of Calvary. It was all very 
impressive, very religious, yet it must have seemed fantastic to other 




CATHEDRAL FROM PLAZA DES ARMES, SANTIAGO 




CONGRESSIONAL BUILDING, SANTIAGO 



343 



GEM OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 345 

than Catholic eyes. On Easter Sunday I attended service in the 
Cathedral and listened to the chanting of the high mass and the 
deep tones of the organ, while the altar blazed with lighted candies 
in shimmering candelabra and the gold and silver crucifixes and 
mountings and hangings and tinsel flashed and scintillated in the 
colored rays which came in through the stained-glass windows. It 
was a sight not soon to be forgotten, — the gorgeousness and pomp 
and panoply of religious worship as practiced by the ancient church 
of Rome. Yet I wondered could such grandeur be in harmony 
with the life and desires of Him it proposed to honor, Him who 
taught humility, who lived in poverty and sufferings, who had 
scarcely a place to lay His head. Despite the thousands, and the 
glitter and the grandeur I felt lonely in that cathedral and wished 
I had some of my home friends with me to keep me company. 

There are many feast or "fiesta" days in Santiago, which take 
much of the people's time. They make such days holidays and try 
to have as good a time as they can, with the result that many are 
incapacitated for attending to their duties the following day, and 
thus they lose two days. Again, as each one insists on celebrating 
the feast of his patron saint, there are a good many feast days in the 
calendar. Sunday is the day for general celebration among the 
peons, and they celebrate so well on chica and other drinks that 
they require Monday to recuperate. Therefore Monday among 
the working classes is more or less regarded as a dies non. 

There is one great holiday common to all the people. This is the 
day the anniversary of Chilean independence is celebrated, the "diaz 
y ocho de Setiembre," that is, the 18th of September. It is the 
Chilean Fourth of July, great preparations are made for it, and 
when it arrives all public buildings, banks and business houses close 
and young and old engage in the general festivities. 

There are two markets in Santiago, both of them on the banks of 
the Mapocho, a stream 130 feet wide, which runs through the city 
for about two miles, having stone walls along the banks over-topped 
with shade-trees. The old market is a most interesting place, well 
worthy a visit. The produce brought to this market comes from 
quite a distance, from the rich Chilean valleys lying among the hills, 
where warm suns and refreshing dews force the soil to bring forth 
its best. Probably the meek-eyed oxen reclining under the shade of 
the trees quietly chewing the cud have been on the road for three 
or four days dragging their loads up the steep inclines and over the 
dust-choked levels. The fruits, as in Valparaiso, are excellent, flie 



346 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

pears and peaches being particularly fine, outclassing those of Cal- 
ifornia, though little pains are taken in their cultivation. There is 
a great deal of haggling over prices. The venders ask twice and 
three times as much as they expect to get, so an inexperienced per- 
son is liable to be taken in by their demands. A little observation, 
however, soon makes one wise to their style of dealing, and when 
they see that their methods are discovered they become reasonable 
enough in their prices. 

There are many newspapers in Santiago — so many indeed that one 
wonders how some of them get circulation enough for support. The 
principal one is El Mercurio. It was founded in Valparaiso in 
1827 where it still publishes an edition. It came to Santiago, which 
it now makes its headquarters, in 1900. There is an afternoon 
edition of this paper called Las Ultimas Noticias, "The Latest 
News," and it publishes an illustrated weekly called Zig-Zag, 
which has a good circulation all over the country. La Union is 
another leading paper which commands a big influence. Others 
are La Lei, La Patria, El Chileno, El Ferrocarril and La Reforma. 
You will meet newspaper boys at almost every corner shouting 
their wares and making insistent demands for patronage. 

The climate of Santiago is similar to that of Washington, yet the 
midday is rather hot when the sun beams down in zenith strength, 
tor the surrounding mountains shut in the heat-waves, and conse- 
quently the place is warmer in the daytime than the latitude would 
otherwise warrant. The nights are cool, sometimes too cool, for 
there are no fires, no stoves or chimneys in the private houses, and 
on occasions the people have to resort to additional clothing to 
maintain bodily comfort. 

It is not uncommon in the evenings to see men sitting witih their 
feet in fur bags and ponchos wrapped around their shoulders. It 
looks very strange to see gentlemen and ladies surrounded by most 
of the luxuries that wealth can buy sitting in furs and overcoats with 
chattering teeth and blue in the faces for want of a simple fire. 
The low latitude of the night atmosphere is caused by cold air- 
waves rolling down the snowy sides of the Andes after sunset, and 
accumulating in the Chilean valleys. This cannot take place 
on the other side of the Cordilleras where there is a great sunny 
plain stretching away to the east, and consequently no valley forma- 
tions between great hills. Many enjoy the cool air of the evening, 
especially those whose occupation shuts them in during the day. It 
is said to be healthy, but science would scarcely indorse such a 




FEMALE CONDUCTORS, SANTIAGO 



GEM OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 349 

view. The healthiness of a city or climate cannot be measured from 
such a standard. Neither has the brightness of the Southern Cross 
nor the color of the moon aught to do with the health or sickness 
of Santiago. That it is not a healthy city is borne out by the figures 
of the vital statistics. The prevailing diseases are pneumonia and 
throat and lung affections, and the mortality from these causes is 
very high. Therefore, beautiful as it is, I would not recommend 
it as a health resort. 



CHAPTER XIV 



CROSSING THE ANDES 



FROM SANTIAGO TO BUENOS AIRES. 

The transandine journey is one which the traveler will not soon 
forget. To describe the trip fully and do justice to the majestic 
scenery is not possible to the most gifted pen. Words are too weak 
to convey to others the impression made upon the mind of the 
traveler by the mighty manifestations put forward by Nature in 
the sublimity of her power throughout this region. In face of such 
stupendous scenery the eye becomes bewildered and unable to take 
in the vastness, the scope, the contrast of colors, the lights and 
shades, the hues and tints, the ascending and descending manifesta- 
tions of glory and gorgeousness, which open out among these ever- 
lasting hills. It is as if some mighty picture of creation were pre- 
sented to our view swinging on a revolving easel and at which we 
can only stare in wonderment as it unfolds itself scene by scene. We 
try to focus our glance on some particular spot but ere we have time 
to center our attention it passes on to give place to some other feature 
in the ever-varying revolutions of form and color. 

The mind has limitations beyond which it cannot go, and here 
the vision of the eye is too narrow to assist it in comprehending 
and digesting the mighty surroundings, no more than one can assimi- 
late some awe-inspiring phenomenon at first glance when suddenly 
confronted with it. 

The Andes are compelling, tremendous, overpowering, and no 
one who looks upon them in this place, be he the most imaginative 
poet or the most gifted artist, can grasp their greatness, their 
grandeur, their sublimity, their effect, within his own individual com- 
prehension. If, like the strong- winged condor, one could soar above 

350 



NATURE'S MAJESTIC WORKSHOP 351 

their towering peaks and take a bird's-eye view of the scenes below 
he might be able to give an impression of their majesty, but even 
then such would be faint and inadequate to convey to others the 
sensations they produce. When the sunlight plays upon their bould- 
ered sides and burnt breasts and snowy heads, such a riot of colors 
flashes out as dazzles the eyes and defies classification. They are 
arranged and limned by the Master Artist of creation, and no mortal 
may ever hope to imitate them on the canvas of Art. Neither prism, 
nor spectrum, nor painter's palette can ever present such a blending 
of hues and tints, in some instances bright and brilliant, in others 
dark and somber, and at all times impressive. Here the granrte 
shows gray and shadowy, there the rocks appear as if splashed 
with blood through which run intra-venous threads of copper stain, 
sometimes green and sometimes blue in their wavy outlines ; green- 
ish crystals of hornblende give way to pinkish patches of flesh- 
colored feldspar shining in vitreous luster, and in turn these give way 
to dioritic basalt and splashes of yellow ochre and laminations of 
gneiss-rock and glints of sandstone, marble and porphyry — all com- 
bining an array of tints confusing to the sight, but at the same time 
fascinating to the senses by the wonderful variety of their display. 

I had anticipated this journey across the huge vertebrse of 
the continent from many points of view, and tried to conjure up 
what would be revealed on the way, but the reality excelled anything 
and everything imagination had called forth. I shall endeavor to 
place before the reader our impressions of some of the places along 
the route, but any description can only be a faint attempt for, as has 
been said, the scenery baffles description. 

We left Santiago in the evening. As we drove down the long 
stretch of the Alameda to the Alameda station, we fondly looked 
back, for we were somewhat loath to say "adios" to the city which 
had captivated us with its beauty and associations. The last beams 
of the western sun were gilding the spires and domes, and as they 
lingered on the turret of never-to-be-forgotten Santa Lucia, they 
revealed a picture which shall ever stand out in the foreground of 
my memory. It was hard to let it pass from view, but the crazy 
old coach — a cross between a volante and a calcchc with the bad 
points of both — drawn by a pair of attenuated, or seemingly articu- 
lated, specimens of the equine race plunged onward and soon the 
entrancing pile was lost to sight. Speaking of horses, there are very 
good ones in Chile and in Santiago, but they are not put to street 
coaches. It is only those which should be superanuated and given a 



352 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

pension for past services that are put to such use. Our Chilleno 
driver whipped the miserable beasts along. He was more like a 
bandit than a driver — rough, uncouth and "bearded like the pard." 
He had no soul for beauty, probably only money — the amount 
of his fare or what he could brazenly charge — was in his thoughts, 
or maybe familiarity, as usual, had begotten contempt for his native 
city and the sights it presented. At any rate he flogged on until the 
station was reached. There we boarded the train for Llai-Llai, 
(pronounced Yi-Yi) where the road from the capital meets the 
continuation of the transcontinental line from Valparaiso. Llai-Llai, 
which, being interpreted, means Windy- Windy, is a little town of 
about five or six thousand inhabitants, and is situated about 2,500 
feet above sea-level. At nearly all hours fruit-sellers come to the 
station to offer their temptations in the way of luscious pears and 
juicy peaches, which they obtain from an Arcadian valley lower 
down and which are really delightful and very cheap, when one 
contrasts what is asked with the imposition of the street peddlers 
in Santiago and Valparaiso. 

Here we changed for the main track and were soon on our way 
to Santa Rosa de Los Andes, which may be called the terminus 
of the State Railway and the beginning of the Chilean Transandine 
Road. The ride to this little town at the foothills of the Andes 
took us through the fertile valley of the Rio Aconcagua. As it was 
night we could not view the scenery on either side, and on this 
account we regretted the late traveling, for this is one of the 
garden spots of a rich agricultural section, where there are waving 
fields of corn, wheat and tobacco, with swelling vineyards and 
swaying orchards and studded with pretentious tile-roofed haciendas 
of well-to-do planters. We passed San Felipe, a town of 12,000 
inhabitants, situated in a belt of well-cultivated land ; it is about 
equally distant from Santiago and Valparaiso, some seventy-eight 
miles from either. 

We arrived at Los Andes at 10 p. m. and turned in for the 
night at one of the two hotels, to get a needed rest for the hard trip 
before us on the following day. The accommodation might have 
been better, but one need not expect the comforts of a modern city 
hostelry in these mountain caravanserais. Most of the rooms are 
on the ground floor, and not infrequently there are three or four 
guests to each, but luckily there is enough space to do away with 
any necessity of sleeping together. As it is, one has to make ime 
best of it where there is no pick or choice in the matter. It was 



NATURE'S MAJESTIC WORKSHOP 353 

almost midnight when we got to bed, and as the train was to leave 
early in the morning we had little time for rest. It seemed that we 
had not yet reached the end of our first sleep when the call came 
for us to get up. We rubbed our heavy eyelids, stared around for 
a while to get our bearings, and then realized we must hurry for 
the road again. We made a hasty toilet and after a desayuno of 
black coffee and hot milk, with a crust of hard black bread, we 
rattled our bones over the stones to the waiting train. I should not 
forget to state we were charged a rather long price for the short 
stop and the black coffee — somewhere about eight dollars a head in 
Chilean money. Los Andes from what we saw of it in the early 
morning light, looked encouraging enough. There was an abund- 
ance of vegetation and many fruit-trees of different varieties. I 
have heard that a fruit-canning plant has been established there, 
which promises to develop into a profitable industry. 

At exactly five o'clock the levers were pulled to open the throttle 
of a specially constructed mountain engine, and in the glorious morn- 
ing sunshine the cars began to move up and over the most wonder- 
ful of mountain roads which leads across the mightiest mountain- 
chain in the world. The track is the narrow gauge type, and the 
special engine was what is known as the Borsig rack-and-pionion, or 
cog-wheel locomotive, manufactured in Germany, a land which 
fathers many inventions to be found in all parts of the world. When 
the gradient became steep, say four in one hundred, we toiled 
laboriously up tooth by tooth at a rate of not over ten miles an 
hour, but when the gradient descended a little a fair speed was 
attained, as fast as with an ordinary engine. The climb began 
almost immediately after leaving Los Andes. In the first thirty 
miles or so there is a rise of about 7,000 feet. The track follows 
the course of the Rio Aconcagua, which gradually narrows until at 
Puente de las Viscaschas it is spanned by a narrow bridge, beneath 
which the waters churn and foam in their close channel as if bat- 
tling to get out to join the current on its way to the sea. Occa- 
sionally we could catch a glimpse of life on the ancient high-ways 
that thread the valley — natives driving oxen to haul primitive 
wagons or carts with block-wheels, such as were used in the days 
of the Pharoahs; in a few fields we saw the animals attached to 
single-handled wooden plows that seemed replicas of what history 
tells us were the tillage implements of the Egyptians and Chaldeans, 
a fact which shows how strong must have been the Moorish influ- 
ence in Old Spain which transplanted its methods and customs to 



354 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

this new continent. We could also see mud huts here and there 
on the mountain-sides embowered in vines and creepers which gave 
them a pretty appearance in the perspective of distances. 

About thirteen miles from Los Andes is the little station of 
Resguardo, where guards are posted for the purpose of protection, 
as there is danger of train hold-ups in these mountain settlements. 
A little beyond is Los Loros, a name which suggests parrots, but 
what that has to do with the people is a matter for conjecture. 
From here on the mountains rise grander and grander and more 
impressive, great masses piled on one another, their summits, cut- 
ting the sky-line, as if in defiant majesty of the realm of air and 
sky. In some places great boulders of rock hang almost perpendicu- 
lar over the road. Enormous fragments look as if on the point of 
falling and are so close to the sides of the track that they seem 
to block the passage in front. One cannot cast off a dread feeling 
of danger as he looks on these huge masses apparently suspended 
in the air and ready to topple at the slightest friction. The air here 
became so cold and thin that to some of us came the old sensation 
of impending sorroche, but it passed off as we tucked our rugs more 
closely around our knees to ward off the chill. The vegetation got 
scanter as we ascended and soon there was scarcely anything of 
life on the bare burnt sides of the mountains which looked as if 
some fire-breathing monster had stalked over them, withering witih 
devastating breath all that came in its way. The train rushed over 
a shelf cut out of the solid mountain-side that spanned a narrow 
gorge through which the waters rushed and roared a thousand feet 
below. This gorge is known as the Salto del Sodaldo, or "Soldier's 
Leap," around which tradition has flung its mantle. It is said that 
during the war of independence, a Chilean soldier, pursued by the 
enemy, leaped across the chasm and escaped. Of course the story 
is improbable, but it adds spice and gives an interest to the place. 

Juncal (pronounced Hoonkal) was passed. This place for several 
years was the terminus . It is at an elevation of 7,500 feet and the 
name means marsh or cornbrake, but the significance seems very 
inappropriate, as there is nothing marshy or like a corn brake about 
it. Soaring aloft above these wild hills may be seen ,in all its 
strength of flight and power of wing and pinion, that rapacious 
bird of the Andes, the condor, which name is derived from the 
Indian word hunter, in turn a corruption of an Incan term meaning 
"to smell well." 



NATURE'S MAJESTIC WORKSHOP 359 

"The condor where the Andes tower 
Spreads his broad wing of pride and power 
And many a storm defies." 

These birds fly to a great height, in fact until they become but 
mere specks to the naked eye in the blue dome of sky. In winter- 
time they come near shore, but in summer they seek the highest 
peaks. The condor is the royal bird of the republic, figuring on 
the national escutcheon as an emblem of strength and independence. 
A stranger may be pardoned for saying that such an emblem is not 
happily chosen. Certainly our own old glorious baldheaded eagle, 
typical of might and majesty, king of birds, is more appropriate 
for a nation's standard than the rapacious carrion-loving vulture of 
the Andes. But each to his own. The condor is native to Chile's 
mountain-peaks, just as the eagle is native to ours. The Indians 
have woven many legends around the accipitrine bird. Most of 
them believe in metempsychosis and many think that the souls of 
their departed who led evil lives enter the bodies of condors, to be 
poised between earth and heaven deprived of the comforts of one 
and the joys of the other. 

Caracoles is the name of the little station at the Chilean end of 
the international railway. From this place a tunnel has been cut 
right through the rock of the Andes, connecting it with Los Cuevas 
where the traveler catches his first glimpse of the Argentine, country. 
This tunnel is 10,300 feet in length. At the time of our visit it was 
not ready for traffic ; so we had to change from the cars at El 
Portillo and take to coaches for our journey across this part of the 
mountains until we could again get a train at Cuevas. In the 
early days this intervening space was covered on foot or saddle- 
back, but later a service was established consisting of many coaches, 
baggage wagons, horses and mules, which did a profitable business 
in conveying passengers across. There were two companies' engaged 
in the tranportation, but the competition did not benefit those who 
were compelled to patronize either, in the way of superior accommo- 
dations. The tourist nowadays should be glad that the necessity 
for their coaches is a thing of the past. Certainly these convey- 
ances were typical of a crude mode of locomotion. I still have a 
lively remembrance of the one in which I traveled. It was a small 
cramped affair, drawn by four horses hitched abreast, after the 
manner of a Roman chariot, and seated only four persons. The 
seats ran sideways and the top was covered with a white canvas, 
like that of a baker's wagon. I got many a hard bump and stiff 



360 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

knock and sickening jolt ere I reached the end of our six hours 
ride. I was, however, reconciled with the suffering because the 
magnificance and wild grandeur of the scenery more than compen- 
sated for the annoyance and drawbacks of the conveyance. Some of 
the views were sublime, outrivaling by far any I had seen in other 
parts of the world. Mountain-peaks, more than twice a thousand 
feet in height, towered above us like Titanic genii guarding us along 
the way. As we zigzagged slowly up that immense ascent, turning 
and twisting on hair-pin bends, we felt as if we were buried beyond 
exhumation in these fearsome Andean passes. I have traveled 
along many narrow and dangerous roads in different countries ; I 
have threaded the corkscrew paths of the Alps above which Jungfrau 
and the Matterhorn frowned in icy threat ; I have been in the 
ravines of the Himalayas, but I have seen nothing to equal the 
rocky, rutty steep, up and over the backbone of the Andes. There 
was but the merest pretense at a wall to keep the coach from rolling 
over the edge down to destruction thousands of feet below. The 
element of danger was never lacking as the horses jumped and 
jerked with the high-wheeled coche careening and bumping along 
after them like a wooden car on a switchback railway. The moun- 
tains rose higher and higher and came closer and closer, their 
awful masses instilling a feeling of dread into those who looked upon 
them for the first time. The keen wind swept our faces and the 
snow beat and cut into the flesh like icicles, though the season was 
but autumn. We wrapt our vicuna rugs closer, but they were insuffi- 
cient to protect us from the cold. Some of the less hardy passengers 
in other coaches succumbed and toppled off their seats in a faint ; 
probably fright at the seeming danger of their surroundings had as 
much to do with their collapse as the cold. I am here led to say 
iiat it requires an organic soundness to successfully negotiate this 
journey and not suffer at the time, or from after effects. Of course 
ihe tunnel now obviates much of the difficulty. This pass in the 
winter months — June, July, August and September — was almost 
impossible ; in that season it led through a veritable land of desola- 
tion with death lurking at every turn and a white annihilation over 
all, the snows often reaching a depth of fifteen to twenty feet. Many 
a brave fellow lost his life for his temerity in trying to overcome the 
peril. Even in the open months sudden storms are not infrequent 
Huts were erected at intervals along the path to protect travelers 
when overtaken. We passed several of these huts. They are 
about twelve feet high, built of brick and mortar and have arched 



NATURE'S MAJESTIC WORKSHOP 361 

roofs. They remind one very much of dungeons. The scenes 
around add a melancholy gloom to their appearance. They are sug- 
gestive of suffering, calling to mind the fate of unfortunate way- 
farers who day by day anxiously looked through their grim door- 
ways to see the snows getting deeper and deeper until hope fled 
and death approached to put an end to their despair. It must 
have been terrible to the poor victims to realize that the pass had 
become impassable and that they must die amid the awful solitude 
of the mountains. 

As we toiled upward the ravines among the hills seemed deeper, 
their bottoms became shrouded in shades of darkness, from which 
we turned our eyes to gaze upward at the grim peaks across which 
wracks of gray clouds were scurrying like the wings of great birds 
brushing them in their fight. 

In considering these Andean solitudes the most striking aspect 
they present is the terribly bleak and desolate appearance, with 
no trees or vegetation, not even grass, save a few blades, peeping 
out here and there from cleft or crevice in the rocks. Imagine 
a mighty expanse of yellowish sand and stone with towering peaks 
on all sides, their stratification so varied that the hues of the 
different compositions strike the sight in a bewildering array of 
colors. Torrents of brackish water rush down the steep sides, in 
many places forming deep and dangerous holes, which make the 
fording very perilous. 

At length, after a laborious climb which completely exhausted our 
poor animals, we came to the pass of the Cumbre or upper ridge of 
the Cordilleras, 12,796 feet above sea-level. This is the most dreary 
spot I think I have ever looked upon, a place which makes the 
shivers run down the spine, yet one feels thankful that it is the cul- 
mination of the toilsome ascent and that from here onward the 
journey will be less terrible, and that soon some of the comforts of 
railway travel will be experienced again. The Cumbre is the most 
dangerous pass on the whole route, on account of the storms which 
sweep over it. At one side is a little graveyard with many wooden 
crosses, silent testimony to the toll taken by the angry gods of tb> 
mountains. Aconcagua is distant about a dozen miles, its vast pro- 
portions looking like the battlements of some stupendous castle con- 
jured up by the fancy or evolved from the legends of some mythical 
past. Torlosa and the Torins rise on either side like colossal sen- 
tinels, mutely standing to guard the great highway that connects the 
two republics of Chile and Argentina. Hill upon hill and range upon 



362 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

range stretch away to the west, dwindling in height as they near 
the coast. When the sun in meridian glory illumines the crests 
and sides of these eternal sentinels of creation, it seems as if the 
Master Builder were opening the doors of His workshop to show 
us the might of His handiwork and at the same time impress us 
with our own insignificance and weakness in face of His own 
power and majesty. No one can look upon the scene without 
acknowledging how infinitesimal are the proudest works of man in 
comparison with those which Nature sets up for his wonderment 
and instruction. 

Dreary and desolate though the Cumbre is, the view from it is 
magnificent and sublime. There was another satisfaction to make 
up for its inhospitable appearance, and that was a feeling of triumph 
that we had conquered the dread ascent and the worst was over. 
Hitherto we had been struggling upward, but the struggle was past, 
the difficulties overcome and instead of having to look above to the 
mountains we were now able to look down upon them. 

Before leaving here that most remarkable statute, known as 
"Christo Redentor," the Christ of the Andes, claimed our attention. 
This colossal statute is placed on a gigantic column, and is both 
imposing and impressive. There is none such other in the world, and 
the only one which approaches it in dimensions is Bartholdi's "Lib- 
erty" in New York Harbor. Aside from its size, the fact that it 
stands on a pass almost 13,000 feet above sea-level, adds to its 
unique distinction. The figure of Christ is twenty-six feet in height ; 
one hand holds a cross and other is extended ,as if invoking a bless- 
ing. It was erected in 1904 as a symbol of perpetual peace be- 
tween the two nations, and was cast in bronze from melted cannon 
belonging to both. On the base of the pedestal are me emblematic 
figures of Chile and Argentina clasping hands as if ratifying the 
settlement of the boundary dispute. One of the tablets bears the 
following inscription : 

"Sooner shall these mountains crumhle into dust than the people of 
Argentina and Chile break the peace to which they have pledged themselves 
at the feet of Christ the Redeemer." 

Leaving this place we were on the down grade, and though the 
road was winding we rapidly made the descent until Los Cuevas 
was reached. Indeed so rapid was our pace that it must have 
resembled a Roman chariot race, with this difference, that the road 
we bounded and bumped over was exceedingly narrow, with many 
turnings and slopings of such precipitous descent that a sudden 



II 



;l Crista ftedenh 




No. 761. Propicdad (W, Editor Adolfo Oonrads, Santiago. 

"CHRIST THE REDEEMER' 



368 



NATURE'S MAJESTIC WORKSHOP 365 

plunge or runaway might have resulted in us reaching Cuevas in 
pieces by being hurled in fragments down the steep decline against 
the walls of the town. But we landed safe, though almost exhausted 
and veneered, cap-a-pie with grime and dust. We were right glad 
to sit down to a rather meagre lay-out of thin soup, vegetables, and 
tough steak, probably llama joints. That simple dejeuner at the time 
tasted better to me than any elaborate table d' hote I have ever 
bad at the most pretentious hotels, for I was both cold and hungry. 

Los Cuevas, which signifies the "Caves," is, as we have said, where 
one gets his first view of Argentina. It is depressing, a scene of vast 
desolation, a wilderness of miserable solitude with not a vestige of 
vegetation to relieve the monotony. Yet there is a marvelous color- 
ing in the rock strata, and this with the white glints from the peaks 
in the distance somewhat relieves the eye. 

After the usual and often useless Customs examinations of bag- 
gage we again took the train for Mendoza, stopping on the way 
at Puento del Inca, one of the marvels of the world, where the 
River Mendoza has torn through the rocks, leaving a perfect natural 
bridge with a single arch, more wonderful than any I have seen 
thus formed elsewhere. The waters which bubble beneath are said 
to have medicinal qualities and there is a tradition that the old 
Inca chiefs came here to recuperate by drinking the healing fluid. 
There is an hotel there now, known as the Hotel del Inca, which is 
claimed to be a health resort where many afflicted with mental wor- 
ries and bodily ailments go to get rest and relief. A little way out 
from here is a curiously shaped mountain called "Cerro de los 
Penitentes," that is, the Ridge of the Penitents, so called because 
it is serrated and pinnacled resembling to a vivid imagination peni- 
tents kneeling in prayer. Los Vacas, Uspallata, La fnvernada, and 
other small stations are passed. The route follows the old moun- 
tain road called Antiqua Camino, by which General San Martin 
made his famous march in 1818 from Argentina to the relief of 
Chile in the long war of independence from Spain. His march 
over the Andes deserves as high a place in military history as the 
more recorded marches of Hannibal and Napoleon. It was a ter- 
rible journey then, and there is no improvement in that region 
since, but, on the contrary, it is a little worse, as there have been 
volcanic upheavals on the mountains and, besides, the process of 
erosion of countless ages is still going on, the slow gnawing of the 
rocks, the mineral particles of which color the water of the Mendoza 
River so that in places it has a metallic sheen. 



366 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

After passing several more little stations, including Rio Blanca, 
where we saw a spouting well throwing cold water one nundred feet 
in air, we arrived at Mendoza, where we found an elegant Pullman 
car awaiting us, attached to a broad gauge train of the Buenos Aires 
and Pacific Railway, the line running from this place to the big city 
of Argentina, a distance of about six hundred and fifty miles. 

Mendoza is a picturesque town of about 30,000 inhabitants lying 
at the foothills of the Argentine Andes. It is an oasis in the midst 
of a desert. It is the westernmost town of the republic. The streets 
are quite wide and the houses almost without exception, are but 
one story. This is on account of earthquakes. Mendoza got a fear- 
ful lesson away back in 1861 and is taking no more risks than it 
can help. On that date occurred one of the worst earthquakes in 
the history of the world, an earthquake accompanied by a cyclonic 
waterspout. The town was almost wiped out of existence and about 
fifteen thousand persons lost their lives, — some authorities give the 
number at twenty-five thousand. Fire and lawlessness added to the 
terrible catastrophe. A new Mendoza has arisen since and is a 
place of considerable importance and trade. There are many hand- 
some streets, good public buildings, fine private houses and recrea- 
tion parks for the people. The central street of the town is the 
broad Avenue de San Martin ,an alameda with double rows or trees 
and streams of water that run either side of the roadway, as is the 
case in the principal thoroughfare of Santiago. The street is cobble- 
stoned, and there is a corso or carriage drive on which many fine 
turnouts can be seen, — landaus, victorias, broughams and even auto- 
mobiles, for many Mendozians are wealthy and keep up with the 
march of modern style. The town is a great wine center. IF is 
surrounded by vineyards which have become very profitable to the 
growers. The fruit is very luscious here, and is produced in such 
abundance that large quantities are shipped as plucked to other parts 
for making jams and preserves as the wine manufacturers cannot 
use all the supply. 

The great prairie pampas of this region are about nine hundred 
miles in breadth. On leaving the base of the Cordelleras they are 
covered with stunted trees and tough shrubs, but these, farther on, 
give way to the long gray grass, and sand stretches, peculiar to this 
Argentine plain. One of the chief discomforts of travel is the dust 
which shifts in through windows and doors until it is almost stifling. 
It also covers the person with a yellowish gray coating, which is 
very difficult to brush off. Another unpleasantness which may be 



NATURE'S MAJESTIC WORKSHOP 367 

experienced is the pampero, or wind-storm, which often comes with 
the fury of a western blizzard driving the dust in clouds before it, 
interfering seriously with the traffic. It has been known to block up 
the track. It comes after a great drought and is immediately fol- 
lowed by thunder and lightning and heavy rains. The pampas are 
not destitute of life. Scattered over this wide area are tens of thou- 
sands of ostriches, but the feathers of these birds are not as valuable 
as in the African species. There are also many flamingoes which 
haunt the lagoons. 

Nearing Buenos Aires, the country becomes as level as a book 
leaf and the train traverses fertile fields, in which wheat, corn and 
grazing lands alternate. There are corn stretches miles in length, 
while the grass, clover and alfalfa pastures would delight the eye of 
a western farmer. This section impresses one with the great agri- 
cultural resources of Argentina. There are many large estancias 
or estates of rich cattle owners. We were told, the land is not sold 
by the acre as with us, but by the square league which is equivalent 
to about 6,000 square acres. And the man who owns but a square 
league is considered a very small farmer indeed. Statistics show 
that among the one hundred thousand reported land owners there 
is an average holding of six square miles. A great annoyance to the 
farmers are the locusts which swarm in millions over the pampas. 

There are not many large stations along the route but as we 
had only a passing view of the towns beyond them I cannot ven- 
ture to offer an opinion, much less indulge in criticism. We finally 
arrived in Buenos Aires, wearied and worn after the long journey 
of twenty-seven hours, hard traveling the greater part of the way, 
and were sorely in need of the comforts of a first-class hotel, where 
ice water could be obtained. 



CHAPTER XV 



THE CAPITAL OF THE ARGENTINE 



LARGEST CITY IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 

Buenos Aires has a population of over a million and a half. 
It is the biggest city south of the equator and the largest Spanish- 
speaking center in the world. It is also the second largest strong- 
hold of the Latin races ; also the second largest city of the Roman 
Catholic faith, and takes rank as the fourth metropolis of the West- 
ern continent. It has been styled the Athens of the South, but the 
comparison might well be extended to the Paris or London, or New 
York of the Southland, for what these cities are to their respective 
countries, Buenos Aires is to the Argentine Republic, and in fact, 
to all South America. It is not alone the political capital of the 
country, it is the commercial and industrial capital and the financial, 
social and intellectual center as well. It contains more than a 
fifth of the population of the Republic, and considerably more than 
a fifth of its riches and influences. The important families have 
their homes here, homes of wealth and princely magnificence, the 
large merchants and millionaires their businesses and interests, and 
the statesmen, representatives and professional men make it their 
headquarters. It is the hub, the pivot on which turn the wheels of 
business, industry and commerce. 

The growth of this city has been amazing. Though founded cen- 
turies ago, the greater part of it is quite modern. The Spaniards 
made a settlement about 1535, but for generations there was only a 
collection of rude shanties and mud huts which gave but little 
promise of the splendid buildings of the present time. Lots, square 
miles in area, if lots they could be called, might have been obtained 
for a few pesos, but there were none to buy, and so the land lay 

368 ; 



CAPITAL OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 369 

waste for many years. At length people were attracted to the mud 
flats and the place brightened up a little, yet the growth was slow for 
a long time. There were about 3,000 of a population when the 
American Revolution broke out. By the time of our Civil War, 
it had increased to 50,000, but the great rush to found homes only 
began about a quarter of a century or so ago. During the closing 
years of the last century the place became the boom center of the 
Southern continent, and since then the growth has been phenon- 
menal. The city increased with almost as great a proportion as 
New York or Chicago. Population gained at the rate of 100,000 a 
year and great buildings were erected with marvelous rapidity. 
Many of these are from six to eight stories and very solidly con- 
structed. The skyscraper is not allowed on account of possible 
earthquakes, but at any rate there is no necessity for it, as there is 
a wide area for distribution. There is no congestion of business 
space calling for tall buildings, with numerous offices, as is the case 
in the large cities of the North. 

The port has been made to keep pace with the buildings and the 
importance of the city as a commercial emporium. Thirty years 
ago there was only a flat mud-bar along the water-front, and ships 
had to anchor several miles out in the river. Both passengers and 
freight had to be conveyed to the shore in lighters and rowboats, 
and before a landing could be effected high-wheeled carts had to be 
pushed into the water, and on these the passengers scrambled to 
reach the shore without getting wet. As the trade increased some- 
thing had to be done to remedy this states of affairs. The civic 
fathers put their heads together with the result that an English 
engineer was brought out who planned and carried to completion 
a system of docks at a cost of $40,000,000. Five great basins were 
constructed which extended along the river-front for three miles. 
The tonnage of the port soon increased to a million, and additional 
basins became necessary. Now the tonnage is about 12,000,000 
annually, which makes Buenos Aires one of the foremost ports 
in the world. A splendid custom-house has been erected at a 
cost of almost $2,000,000 to provide room and give facility to the 
large working force required to look after such a big export and 
import trade. 

It is at the docks that a good idea may be gathered of the vast 
importance of the place, not only as a shipping center, but as a great 
bustling hive of industry, keenly alert to the spirit of modern 
progress. The streets are crowded, and the wagon traffic is so 



370 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

heavy as scarcely to admit of a foot passenger getting across from 
one side to the other. Hundreds of trucks and drays are busy haul- 
ing merchandise to and from the railroad freight depots and the 
commission houses. Along the wharves the vast warehouses are 
piled from floor to ceilings with all kinds of commodities, either 
home products waiting to be shipped to other ports, or foreign 
goods consigned to the merchants and brokers of the city. Beyond 
the edge of the basins can be seen a range of funnels, poles and 
spars, belonging to ships of all nations here to discharge their cargoes 
and take on new supplies. From the tall masts you can see flying 
the flags of the principal nations — England, Germany, France, Aus- 
tria, Italy, Spain, etc. The flag of the United States is rarely seen. 
Of the thousands of vessels entering the harbor every year scarcely 
half-a-dozen sail under the colors of Uncle Sam. Sometimes there 
is such a congestion of shipping that freighters have to wait for 
weeks before they can enter the basins to have their cargoes dis- 
charged. 

The busy streets also exemplify the increasing activities and 
strenuous life of the city. They are generally thronged from morn- 
ing till night with eager, anxious crowds, rushing hither and thither 
on business intent, while cabs, carriages, automobiles and taxis go 
clanging and whizzing along seemingly reckless of the safety of the 
pedestrians ; yet, there are very few accidents, for the traffic is cer- 
tainly well regulated. The street-cars and vehicles are allowed to 
go only one way on one street, and must return by another thorough- 
fare. Thus, by a certain street they proceed east, but they cannot 
come back through that street — the western or return trip must be 
taken through another, which is generally the next street. This 
seems a wise arrangement and diminishes collision and danger to 
the vanishing point. Moreover, uniformed policemen are stationed 
at the intersections most congested and take care that foot travelers 
get across in safety. What makes the streets seem so crowded and 
accidents liable to happen is their extreme narrowness, besides which 
they are built right out to the street-line. These narrow thorough- 
fares are relics from the old days of the shanties and mud huts, 
when it never was dreamed that a mighty modern city would 
raise itself on the site of these primitive dwellings. Many of the 
business streets are only thirty-three feet wide. Some of these are 
Congallo, Bartolome, Cuyo, 25th of May, San Martin and the Calle 
Florida. Now there is a city ordinance by which no new street 
can be opened less than sixty feet in width. 




ilKD'S-EVE VIEW OF BUENOS AIRES FROM "LA PRENSA' 
BUILDING 




LOOKING FROM "LA PRENSA" DOME 



CAPITAL OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 373 

The Calle Florida is the fashionable shopping street. It is lined 
with splendid stores, every other one of which seems to be a 
jeweler's. Watches , diamonds, brilliants, pendants, necklaces, 
trinkets and other ornaments flash in the windows in dazzling array 
to captivate the eyes of the passing shoppers. Most of them are well 
patronized, for the people are extremely fond of display and a large 
proportion can very well afford to adorn their persons with what 
takes their fancy in the way of costly attractions. Especially in the 
afternoons is this street crowded. From about four o'clock to six 
o'clock the throngs are so dense that it is difficult to make one's 
way to any objective point. The rank and fashion of the metropolis 
— well-dressed gentlemen and ladies — are out in their autos, landaus 
and victorias, surveying the pedestrians from their leisurely points 
of vantage as they slowly roll along, lolling back on their silken cush- 
ions, taking life easy in that dolce far niente way which is the 
envy of the proletariat or working classes. Sometimes the con- 
gestion of foot traffic is so great on this street during the afternoon 
hours that no wheeled vehicle is allowed to enter. Then miladi and 
her lord have to condescend to foot it, like the ordinary citizens, and 
brush skirts and coats with Pedro and Alonzo and Juanita and 
Carmencita from the lower walks of life, who earn their bread, as 
well as their leisure time, in the sweat of their brows. The ubiqui- 
tous young idlers common to all large cities, the "Johnny Boys" 
and "Smart Alecks," who neither live by their brains nor their 
hands, are much in evidence. These would-be dandies stand at the 
corners twirling their moustaches a la Kaiser Wilhelm, the while 
puffing their cigarettes and all the time looking for an opportunity 
to ogle the sweet-faced little senoritas as they pass by. We are 
well accustomed to this despicable genus in the cities of the Untied 
States, but it is even more obnoxious in the Southern capital. 

A striking contrast to the other narrow streets is the wide 
asphalted boulevard called the Avenida de Mayo. This, being near 
the heart of the city, wtth its rows of stately trees and fine stores, 
hotels and office buildings, reminds one of the Champs Elysees in 
Paris. It has nothing of old Spain about it, none of the low one- 
story buildings, but everything quite up to date — modern and impos- 
ing in appearance. There are many open-air cafes on the broad 
sidewalks. These also help to emphasize a resemblance to the 
famous Parisian boulevard. The construction of this splendid ave- 
nue is said to have cost $12,000,000. It is constantly being beauti- 
fied and chaste and imposing buildings are still being erected to look 



374 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

down upon it. Already it is considered one of the finest streets 
in the world, and in time may lead all others in stately grandeur 
and magnificent display. At night, when it is lighted up by electricity, 
its appearance is particularly impressive. As we walked beneath its 
trees while the long line of arc-lamps stretched out in far perspective 
before us, scientillating and sparkling against the darkness overhead, 
it seemed like some long-drawn-out passage to fairyland, or sonie 
golden paved highway leading to an abode of the gods, upon which 
mortal feet must tread stealthily and mortal eyes look with wonder 
and admiration. I thought of some of the famous streets I had 
seen, but none of them appealed to me so much as this, with the 
magic mantle of night upon it, and the stars of the Southern Cross 
blinking down, as if ashamed of their pale and feeble light in con- 
trast with the brilliant bulbs of glowing radiance which man had 
flung out in defiance to the darkness of space. 

At the eastern extremity of the avenue, is the Plaza de Mayo, 
which covers eight acres, and upon which face the Cathedral, the 
President's House, Congress, the Courts and the bolsa or Stock 
Exchange. 

The Palace of Congress is a noble building not long completed. 
It was thirteen years in erection and the cost was almost $10,000,000. 
With its great dome and its Cornithian columns it reminds the 
observer of the Capitol at Washington when viewed from the end 
of Pennsylvania Avenue. 

The Cathedral is a great building, but not an imposing one. It 
was modeled after the church of the Madeleine in Paris, and looks 
more like a government structure or art gallery than a place of 
worship. It covers an acre and will seat about 9,000, though there 
is rarely half that number in it at one time, despite the fact that 
Buenos Aires, wiith the exception of New York, has more Catholics 
than any other city on earth. In fact about 97 per cent, of all the 
people of Argentina are Catholic. But the truth is that the Porteno 
has grown luke-warm in his faith, he has fallen away from the 
intensity of fervor and religious spirit which characterized his An- 
cestors. The cause of this is not our province to touch upon, but the 
effect any one can see for himself. Most observers would be inclined 
to believe that the luxurous lives and idleness of the priests have 
had much to do in turning the people away from religion. Pro- 
fessing to be followers and disciples of the lowly Nazarene, who 
"led a life of poverty and suffering," they wallow in purple and 
fine linen, partake of the good things of the earth, eat, drink and 




AVEXIDA DE MAYO, BUEXOS AIRES 




CALLE FLORIDA, BUEXOS AIRES 



375 



CAPITAL OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 37? 

are merry, and never give a thought to suffering or sorrow. They 
make an apotheosis of self, and place it on the altar of their own 
indulgence and laziness, where they worship it night and day. 

During the reign of the Spaniards the priests and monks had very 
great influence, and the dimensions and archteictural splendors as 
well as the furnishings of the many churches throughout the land 
show the power and riches they possessed. I could not help com- 
paring some of these churches with their pictures and statutes, their 
gold and silver ornaments, their candles and incense and mighty 
organs, with the quiet little church in the village where I was born, 
with its bare walls and simple pulpit and wooden benches, yet with 
an air of sanctity hanging around it which breathed of reverence 
and true worship. South American churches were built principally 
for the conversion of the Indians to the Christian faith, and it is 
melancholy to think that the priests should have attempted to do 
by pomp and show and display of wealth what would have been 
performed effectively by reason and kindness and humility. These 
worldly but not spiritual pastors made their temples as attractive 
as possible, and men were called to see and admire instead of to 
listen and to reflect. 

Besides the Cathedral there are twenty-four other Catholic 
churches in Buenos Aires. There are four Protestant churches, the 
chief of which is the American Methodist church which is very well 
attended. Of course there is no restriction on any religion, and 
happily little of the rampant and vindictive bigotry shown toward 
Protestant missionaries and colporteurs, which characterize so many 
other centers of the country. 

The hotels and restaurants are very good, quite as good if not 
better than those of our own cities. I put up at the Grand 
Hotel, which is probably the most central and best in the city, 
where the service was excellent, the cuisine all that could be desired 
and the attendants courteous and anxious to please. There are 
many fine cafes and rathskellers, for the Portehos are fond of the 
good things of the table, and while there are no Lucullian feasts, 
there are often great banquets, for which almost all the countries of 
the world are laid under contribution, where there is "flow of w'ine 
and feast of soul" and dishes to delight the most fastidious epicurean 
or censorious gastronomist. Perhaps the best-known retaurant is 
the "Sportsman,"' which is to Buenos Aires what Delmonicos was 
to New York. Here any kind of dish may be obtained, and the 
gourmand, if he likes, can glut his appetite with the choicest viands 



378 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

of European lands, as well as the concoctions of native soil. He can 
order pate de foie gras, or Russian caviare, or kangaroo steak, and 
as for liquid refreshments he can have burgundies, moselles, sau- 
terne, hock or any of the choicest productions of the Rhineland 
or the sunny fields of France. Should his appetite crave something 
stronger he can call for Jamieson's "Seven-year Old'' Irish, or 
"Kingussie" or "Glenlivet" Scotch, but these ardent liquors are not 
very suitable to the climate. 

There is generally music in the leading restaurants and, of late, 
free moving picture shows are provided for the delectation of pa- 
trons. To obtain a seat at certain hours it is necessary to make 
arrangements beforehand, for the attractions are so many that 
diners are liable to linger long at the tables. As a general rule a 
meal begins with a dish of cold meats, followed by the soup. Then 
several kinds of meat and fish are brought in, and lastly a pastry 
or some sweet confection to serve as a dessert. In one of these 
restaurants we had some "Yerba Mate," or Paraguayan tea, a native 
drink which is very popular and which seems to tickle the South 
American palate. This tea is mostly used with sugar and hot water. 
It was served to us in a large gourd nicely carved. On account of 
its being in very fine form, it leaves a sediment on the bottom of the 
vessel, and to prevent this from interfering with the liquid, the infu- 
sion is sucked through a tube having a strainer at the end. This 
tube is called a "bombilla" and is generally made of silver or brass. 
The concoction was not to our liking, for the taste was rather herby 
and bitter, yet South Americans often have nothing else for their 
early breakfast. It is considered very nourishing, and, somewhat 
like opium, it has the double effect of soothing the nerves- and stimu- 
lating the spirits. The gauchos of the plains will travel on horse- 
back for weeks asking no better fare than dried beef washed down 
by copious draughts of "Mate." The tree from which this tea is 
obtained is a species of holly, which was grown by the Jesuits on 
their plantations in Paraguay and on their branch missions in the 
provinces of Parana and San Pedro de Rio Grande, and it is from 
these places that the supply comes at the present time. 

There are many fine parks in and around the city, as well as nu- 
merous places where the "good airs" may be enjoyed. Of the 
former, Palermo is the chief; it is the "Rotten Row" of Buenos 
Aires. Leading out to it is the Avenida Alvear, which in itself is a 
striking street with its splendid residences of wealth and luxury. 
The mansions which line it are interspersed with lovely plazas and 




PLAZA VICTORIA, BUENOS AIRES 



P 




CAPITAL AND CONGRESSIONAL BUILDING, BUENOS 
AIRES 



379 



CAPITAL OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 381 

blooming gardens, the profusion of flowers and verdure giving a 
unique beauty to the whole. It was with much interest as well as 
curiosity that we watched the rank and wealth and fashion and 
beauty of the Southern metropolis in their magnificent equipages and 
turnouts driving along this palm-fringed avenue on their way to and 
from Palermo Park. Society drives and rides here every after- 
noon, and often there is upward of a thousand carriages and other 
vehicles in line. Palermo Park is about half an hour's ride from the 
heart of the city. It is a scene of verdure and vegetation of life and 
loveliness that is truly charming and irresistibly captivating. Al- 
though below the tropics there is a tropical luxuriance of growth. 
The stately palm thrives here, and different species of eucalypti, 
with gourds, gardenias, tuberoses, oleanders, feathery ferns and 
many other varities of flowers and plants appealing to the eye and 
pleasing to the olfactory nerves. Around the park are the principal 
sporting and play-grounds, and through it runs a broad boulevard 
which leads out to Belgrano, a fashionable suburb of the city where 
there are many homes palatial in arrangements and princely in 
adornment. 

Another park that may be mentioned is the Paseo Cristobal Colon 
(Columbus), very artistically laid out and having many fine trees 
and beautiful shrubbery. It does much credit to the landscape artists, 
when it is taken into consideration that twenty years ago the site 
was a marshy strip of ground occupied by docks, unsightly and un- 
clean, and seemingly incapable of being transformed into the bowers 
of beauty which make up the present park. 

The "Jardim Botanico" is another spot of tropical profusion and 
costly magnificence, where Nature is forced to put forth her best 
efforts to beautify and please. In fact the parks and plazas make of 
Buenos Aires a very garden city, ever presenting a varied assortment 
of floral delights to the eye. Shades of color, verdure and loveli- 
ness seemed to greet us at every turn. 

The "Hippodrome," or race course, cannot be omitted from de- 
scription. The Argentinians are a sport-loving people. There is an 
exclusive Jockey Club made up of wealthy residents with a very 
high entrance-fee and annual dues which only the rich can afford to 
pay. It is open only to natives. The races are held on Sunday after- 
noons from twelve o'clock to three o'clock. The crowds gather to 
the extent of many thousands, and the scene is very animated and 
gay, variegated and picturesque, with the bright costumes of the 
ladies who take as much delight in the sports as their male escorts 



382 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

and companions. Probably, too, the love of show, as everywhere 
else, is another consideration with them, as it is an excellent place 
to display their rich and fashionable costumes. Carriages and auto- 
mobiles are drawn up along the curb while the races are being run, 
and lorgnettes, spy-glasses and opera glasses are much in evidence. 
As soon as the races are over the long line of vehicles wend their way 
to Palermo Park and there throng the driveways beneath the palms 
until sunset, when they return to the city in a resplendent procession. 

There are many theaters in the city which have a brilliant season 
beginning in June. The Portenos are very fond of the play and 
willing to pay fancy prices, therefore the managers are able to offer 
big salaries to tempt the very best talent of Europe and other coun- 
tries. The Teatro Colon is the largest opera-house in South America. 
It enjoys a government subsidy and is able to secure the famous 
song-birds of all lands. Most of the world's greatest artists in the 
operatic line have trodden its boards at some time in their career. It 
is capable of accommodating thousands, and is nightly packed during 
the season by a fashionably dressed audience. The ladies make a 
lavish display of their jewelry — diamond tiaras, ropes of pearls and 
crescents, costing a fortune, flash and scintillate in the myriad of 
lights with a splendor worthy of London or New York at their best. 
Some of the boxes cost a thousand dollars a season and the price 
is readily paid. 

The Moving Picture show has invaded Buenos Aires and with a 
vengeance. Exhibitions of shocking indecency are countenanced and 
films permitted which would be tabooed in any city or town in the 
United States. It is a pity there is no Board of Censors to regulate 
the representations put before the common people in this respect. 
As it is, the pictures shown for the most part are subversive of 
morals which, instead of being thus weakened are in much need of 
strengthening, for the tide of morality is at a low ebb in the Argen- 
tine capital. As has been said, the Catholic Church has lost its grip 
on the people, the clergy do not show a good example, and as a 
consequence there is no restraining influence to keep them in the 
straight and narrow path, so they stray away led by their own pas- 
sions, and the Moving Pictures are pushing them farther on the 
down grade. 

As may be expected there are many newspapers in Buenos Aires. 
The best one, and one of the best in the world, is La Prensa, which 
has its stately three-million dollar home on the Avenida de Mayo. 
La Prensa, signifying the Press, is a newspaper of which any coun- 






£yr- 




Lt^ - 





PICTURESQUE FOUNTAIN, BUENOS AIRES 




TOMB OF BELGRANO BUENOS AIRES 



CAPITAL OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 385 

try might well be proud. Although its circulation is but 120,000, 
it maintains a news service which covers the world. In North Amer- 
ica it is served by an arrangement reciprocal with the New York 
Herald. It is an independent organ, not under government control 
in any way. Its statements are always taken as facts. If LaPrensa 
says anything is so, the Argentinian will swear it must be so. Its 
editorials are scanned and digested from one end of the Republic 
to the other, and in fact all over South America, for it has readers 
throughout the continent. It publishes more foreign news than any 
newspaper in the world, generally never less than two pages of for- 
eign cablegrams, principally from Europe. In the treatment of all 
questions it maintains a lofty tone and judicial dignity and displays 
a fearlessness much to be admired. The home of this newspaper 
is one of the imposing sights of the city. Besides the extensive plant 
of this great modern journal there are several departments in the 
building for the good of the public and the glory of the city. There 
is a large hall for lectures and public meetings as well as musical 
entertainments and private operas; suites of rooms for receiving 
distinguished foreigners or guests of the city ; a dispensary attended 
by competent physicians who administer to the sick without charge ; 
a legal-room, where full legal advice can be obtained ; a large read- 
ing-room and a well stocked library free to all, and private rooms 
for the reporters and others connected with the paper. 

The next journal in importance is La Nation, which has a large 
and distinguished clientele. El Pais, Tribuna, El Pueblo, El Tiempo, 
La Argentina and La Rason are some of the other leading dailies. 
The principal evening paper is El Diario which is issued at four 
o'clock. In all there are some five hundred different publications in 
the metropolis, composing indeed a most polyglot press. Four hun- 
dred and twelve are printed in the Spanish language, twenty-two in 
Italian, eight in English, eight in French, eight in German. The 
Dutch, Swedish and Danish are represented by one each, and there 
is one in Arabic. There are two hundred weeklies, sixty-four 
monthlies and sixty-six dailies. The maintenance of such a vast 
number indubitably proves that Buenos Aires is a reading city, and 
indeed it is, and, besides, a very well educated one. There are sixty- 
seven buildings devoted to educational purposes and the total cost of 
keping them up runs into millioms of pesos annually. Some of the 
schools would do credit to any of the large cities of our own country. 
It is pleasing to note that the system of education is being modeled 
after that of the United States. 



386 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

The University is one of the great educational institutions of the 
New World. The buildings are scattered over the city in different 
sections as various departments have been added from time to time, 
the site of each depending on facility of acquirement, suitableness of 
location and other circumstances. At present there are about five 
thousand students enrolled, and about half of these are studying 
medicine. The College of Medicine of the University is a large and 
well-equipped institution. The Department of Law and Social 
Science also claims many of the students. There are no less than 
sixteen hospitals, most of them maintained by the municipal or fed- 
eral government. Well-qualified physicians are in attendance. There 
are many homes, asylums, orphanages and institutes for the aged and 
unfortunate. There are not many aged, however, for longevity is 
not a striking characteristic of Buenos Aires. Though the Spanisl 
freebooter, Pedro de Mendoza, named it "good airs," the air is not 
particularly good, nor the percentage of life-giving ozone very high. 
On the contrary, sometimes the air, especially when there is a fog, 
is bad. The fact is, the name had no reference to the air at all. 
Mendoza, like the rest of the saint-worshiping cut-throats of his 
country, wanted to honor one of them, so he called the site of the 
settlement after the Virgin Maria de Buenos Ayres of old Spain. 
That the air is not good is borne out by the high death-rate, thirty- 
three in the thousand, which beats "muggy" old London itself and 
places this wrongly named city almost at the head of the mortality 
list. 

Speaking of mortality, Buenos Aires can be said to remember its 
dead with a silent eloquence that well indicates the sorrow and appre- 
ciation of the living. It has one of the finest cemeteries on the con- 
tinent, that known as the Ricoleta Cemetery, which has the appear- 
ance of a small city of marble and granite with paved narrow streets 
between the vaults that line either side. These vaults are of many 
sizes and conditions, some small, others large ; some grand, others 
unpretentious, according as they are the last homes of the wealthy 
departed, or the humble tenements of the dead poor, whose friends 
have been unable to erect a costly mausoleum over their remains 
Some of the vaults contain scores of bodies. In each there is an 
entrance-room, generally furnished as a mortuary chapel. Some 
times you may see in this room a marble slab containing the coffin 
of some distinguished member of the family, but, as a general rule, 
all the coffins are placed in the vault beneath. Usually the room is 
filled with flowers, real or artificial, to testify to the remembrance 




'WE MUST WALK, OTHERS CAN RIDE' 




IN THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, BUENOS AIRES 



387 



CAPITAL OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 389 

of the living and their affection for the dead. This particular "God's 
acre" up to the present time is said to contain about 300,000 bodies. 
There are some peculiar funeral customs. Funerals are of first, 
second and third class, depending upon the rank, wealth and con- 
dition of the deceased. A first-class funeral is very elaborate. The 
hearse, a heavy lumbering coach of black ebony, is ornately carved 
and drawn by black horses. Footmen and coachmen in somber black- 
livery are provided for the occasion, and servants are posted at the 
door of the church to take the cards of those who attend and those 
who send regrets for their absence. The death-notices are widely 
advertised in the newspapers, so as to draw large crowds. Scores of 
mourning coaches follow the hearse, the larger the number the more 
pleasing to the friends of the deceased, as the number of coaches is 
looked upon as proportional to the respect in which the family is held. 

One morning we visited the markets of Buenos Aires. They are 
very interesting places, particularly in the early hours before the 
supplies are diminished, and all is bustle and life. One is impressed 
by the great quantities of produce which overflow the side-walks and 
corners. There are fruits by the ton, vegetables by the van-load, 
butchers' meats in carcasses and joints, and in short, everything for 
the consumption of a great city in lavish abundance. There were 
thousands of dozens of eggs, and pears and peaches enough to fill 
the largest warehouse. These fruits, with the Mendoza grape, are 
of the finest quality, but their great abundance does not render them 
cheap, for they are almost as dear as in the United States. Meats 
are cheap, especially in the afternoon, for the law compels all meat 
to be sold the same day it is killed. Early in the morning the butchers 
go out to the municipal slaughtering-houses and kill as many animals 
as they think they can sell during the day. These markets are scenes 
of wonderful animation when the selling and buying are proceeding 
briskly in the early morning, with the sellers holding out for their 
prices and the purchasers trying to beat them down to a lower figure, 
or, as many would say, "Jew them down," in reference to the bar- 
gaining instincts and commercial cleverness of our Hebrew friends. 

Those who find it inconvenient to attend the markets are supplied 
by street hawkers who go around from door to door with baskets 
suspended from a pole swung across their shoulders. These peri- 
patetic merchants rend the air with their cries and are much the same 
kind of a disturbing element as the "ol' cas' clo' " men or scissors 
grinders of our Northern cities. Here, too, the milkmen come around 
with their living sources of supply, heralding their approach by the 



390 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

tinkle of a bell and drawing the amount ordered from the udders 
of the patient animals. The asses, as well as cows, are driven 
around, for there is a demand for donkeys' milk, as it is said to be 
preferable to cows' milk, for feeding infants. 

Lecherias, or milk shops, are plentiful, where the milk is sold over 
the counter by the glass. Frozen milk takes the place of ice cream 
in these establishments, which are kept neat, clean and enticing. 
There is a large number of places where intoxicants are sold, for 
the liquor license is small, but saloons or bars after the English and 
American style are only found in the business districts. There is 
not much open intoxication and few arrests for drunkenness. 

The city has a fine water-supply. It is taken from the La Plata 
River, far enough up to avoid any chance of pollution. Wells have 
been bored beneath the bottom of the river and the water pumped 
through tunnels to a central station, where it is filtered and distrib- 
uted to all sections of the city. The reservoir in the center of the 
city is called the Aguas Corrientes. It looks more like a palace than 
a reservoir, with its imposing glazed brick and terra cotta facings 
on all sides. The shell of this building, not to speak of the tanks 
inside, cost the city one million dollars, but it was all done for show 
and to add to the attractiveness of the metropolis. 

Handsome structures are being constantly erected and the city 
spreading to a wide area. At present it covers a space four times as 
large as Manhattan Island, three times larger than Berlin and more 
than twice that of Paris. Every year the municipality offers a prize 
for the handsomest structure erected. This gives an impetus to both 
building and architectural beauty, for in addition to the prize, the 
building is exempted from taxes for a certain period, and, besides, 
the owner is reimbursed for any sum he may have expended in 
making an artistic street-front. 

There are many splendid residences, great heavily built structures, 
with beautiful patios, or miniature gardens, in the middle, into which 
all the rooms open, so that fresh air and privacy can be enjoyed at 
the same time. It required millions to erect them, and more millions 
to furnish and equip them, but this is not a cause for wonder when 
it is considered that there are more millionaires in Buenos Aires than 
in any city of its size in the Northern Hemisphere. There are many 
multimillionaires. Every one who has made money in the Argentine 
Republic comes to Buenos Aires to invest and spend it. The vast 
"estancias" of from ten to one hundred thousand acres owned by 
the metropolitan nabobs pour out the teeming riches of their wheat- 




LAZAMA PARK, BUENOS AIRES 




A DELIGHTFUL WALK, LAZAMA PARK 



391 



CAPITAL OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 393 

fields and cattle ranches and sheep-folds from all the territory within 
a thousand miles to make of Buenos Aires a metropolis of wealth 
and grandeur. 

Yet there are poor people in this wealth-laden city. Go to a "con- 
ventilla" — it may be next to a millionaire's palace — and look through 
the doorway. There is a courtyard and around it numerous doors. 
Maybe the place has two stories, if so, doors open on to a balcony 
above the courtyard. Each of these doors gives ingress to a single 
room, and in this one room you may find a whole family consisting 
of parents, children and perhaps grandchildren. Five or six sleep 
in the same bed and the cooking is done over a charcoal brazier in the 
courtyard. Talk of the congestion in the ghettos of New York and 
London ! — it is scarcely more intense than what prevails in the "con- 
ventillas" of Buenos Aires. Two or three hundred people may have 
to breathe or move and exist in one of these two-storied enclosures, 
but fortunately for them the cost of living is not high and old clothes 
can be easily procured. At any rate they have to work, and work 
hard, for what they get, toiling at the docks and on the streets, in 
the mills and factories and elsewhere, truly earning their bread by 
the hard work of their hands and often both brawn and brain are 
overtaxed. It is the old, old story of rich and poor the world over. 

In addition to the distinctive features already mentioned, Buenos 
Aires is the most cosmopolitan city in the world, in this respect out- 
rivaling New York and Chicago. On the streets almost any tongue 
can be heard. Every European language is represented. In the 
business districts you hear for the most part Spanish and English. 
The Spanish of the common people is not very pure, it is more like a 
patois than the original language. In the poorer quarters Italian is 
constantly heard. There are more Italians in this city than those of 
Spanish birth, enough to make up a town as large as Palermo, there 
being upward of 310,000. German is quite common, the Teutons 
being almost as numerically strong as the English. French is also 
making headway. Then there are Swedes, Norwegians, Portuguese, 
Poles, Greeks and Russians and many Asiatics and Orientals. Amer- 
icans from the United States are not in great force. When an Amer- 
ican society was being organized a few years ago there was much 
difficulty in locating three hundred members who acknowledged alle- 
giance to the Stars and Stripes. 

We took many walks through this great bustling Southern city, 
and were much impressed with the spirit of commercialism and prog- 
ress which animated it. The word "effete" has been so often applied 



394 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

to these Latin countries that one is surprised to come upon a com- 
munity which displays not only buusiness activity but that strenu- 
osity of life which characterizes the hustling, go-ahead cities of 
the United States. There is nothing effete or moribund about Buenos 
Aires. It is thoroughly alive and eager to command attention as a 
world metropolis. Of course it snatches a few hours off in the way 
of relaxation, it has its feast days and holidays, its races, its theaters 
and pleasure-grounds, and the people are fond of promenading 
through the streets, but withal the work is not neglected, the wheels 
of business are kept revolving, effort is never relaxed, activity never 
takes a back seat, progress is always being made and the future never 
lost sight of, no matter what the distractions of the present. Buenos 
Aires is truly a great city, and it is destined to be a greater one as 
the years roll on. 

It is well governed and well protected, as we had opportunity of 
seeing. One evening, on returning to our hotel, we saw a detachment 
of police detailed to their different beats for the night. They were 
uniformed in coarse blue cloth and were all armed with sabers and 
revolvers. These men are authorized to arrest every one violating 
the peace or public decency, and to keep the streets clean and orderly. 
In all there are about 5,000 of them to protect the city, or about one 
for every 230 of the population. One is usually placed at the inter- 
section of every two streets. The number and efficiency afford se- 
curity and, on the whole, we think life and property are safer in the 
midnight streets of Buenos Aires than in many cities of the United 
States. 




PALERMO PARK, BUENOS AIRES 




EL TIGRE RIVER. BUENOS AIRE 



CHAPTER XVI 

MONTEVIDEO AND ALONG THE COAST 
Scenes on the Way to Rio de Janeiro 

We left Buenos Aires in the evening by one of the small coasting 
steamers plying between that port and Montevideo. The soft light 
was falling across the bay on the muddy, reddish-brown water, which 
at this place stretches thirty miles across from the Argentine to the 
Uruguayan shore. The Rio de la Plata, or Plate River, so-called, is 
not a river, but a large estuary widening out to the sea and formed 
by the union of the great Uruguay River and the still greater Parana, 
both of which drain fully one-fourth of the entire continent. The 
estuary is two hundred miles long, and at the open sea between Mon- 
tevideo and Cape San Antonio on the southern side, more than one 
hundrd miles wide. 

We saw nothing impressive in our leave-taking of the capital city, 
the scenery was dull in the extreme ,the dominant feature being a 
great mass of shipping, its funnels and spars and cordage cutting the 
somber background of the darkening sky, as we steamed away 
through the gathering shades on another "leg" of our journey, bring- 
ing us nearer the end. None of us had any desire to remain on deck, 
so we repaired below to our cabins to refresh ourselves in sleep for 
the coming day. When we awoke next morning we found that our 
boat had already cast anchor in the harbor of the capital of the 
smallest South American republic — Uruguay. 

Uruguay has had a somewhat checkered history. The Spaniards 
had no easy conquest in this part of the country, for the aboriginal 
Indians were plucky and determined fighters, and kept the invaders 
at bay for a long time. There are no aboriginal Indians now. More- 
over, the Jesuits from Paraguay, who from 1600 had carried on mis- 
sions among the tribes farther north, helped to close the country to 
adventurers and fortune-seekers. But in time it came under the 

397 



398 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

viceroyalty of Buenos Aires, and probably would have continued a 
part of Argentine had it not been for its close proximity to Brazil. 
The Portuguese of that region held it at intervals, sometimes taking 
it by conquest and sometimes getting it by cession from the Spanish 
crown. At length the people came to consider themselves as distinct 
from those on the opposite side of the Rio de la Plata and Uruguay 
Rivers. The name, Banda Oriental (East Side) was applied to them 
to differentiate them from the Argentinians on the west side of the 
river. These colonists, or Orientales ,as they were styled, soon began 
to assert their independence of Spanish rule. In 1810 they made an 
effort to throw off the Spanish yoke. The Portuguese of Brazil 
allied themselves with Spain in defense of the monarchy and invaded 
the little country, but the brave and partiotic leader, Artigas, gath- 
ered his forces around him and after a long and desperate struggle 
succeeded in setting Uruguay free. But Argentina again stepped 
in to force it into the federation and kept it in practical subjection till 
1821. Then Brazil proved the stronger and ruled it until 1825. 

At length the Banda Oriental revolted against outsiders with a 
vengeance, and after three years of desperate struggling gained 
complete independence, and both Brazil and Argentina were com- 
pelled to recognize Uruguay as a sovereign state. But it has been a 
land of internecine strife and revolutions since. The invasions and 
fighting and suffering made the early settlers warlike, and the fre- 
quent change of rulers accustomed them to unstable administrations ; 
a restiveness and love of power was engendered, with the conse- 
quence that the feeling of unrest came down through the succeeding 
years, and there have been few periods of permanent peace and 
tranquillity. Yet the fighting and the frequent disturbances have 
formed a type of people who love their country and are jealous of 
every prerogative and right they claim as their own. And it is a 
country worth loving, an ideal land, a very garden spot, if not exactly 
flowing with milk and honey, at least well favored by nature in 
richness of production and beauty of landscape. There is scarcely an 
acre that cannot be cultivated if necessity arose. With the excep- 
tion of a few sand stretches on the coast and a barren hill rising up 
here and there at long intervals, the country is well adapted for till- 
age, for grazing and for timber growth. The climate is well tempered 
by the Atlantic, the summers being cool and pleasant and the winters 
mild. There are large tracts devoted to the cultivation of wheat and 
maize and many rich vineyards scattered over the whole area. The 
grass is sweet and luscious, the very best for cattle in all South 



MONTEVIDEO AND THE EASTERN COAST 401 

America, hence large herds of sheep and kine and many horses are 
everywhere to be seen. The country towards the sea-coast is gently 
undulating, and inland it rises in gradually swelling downs with 
ranges of low hills in some places. The most elevated point in the 
region is less than 2,000 feet. The area is 72,210 square miles, and 
the present population (1914) about 1,200,000. 

Montevideo, the capital, has 300,000 inhabitants. Its port, the 
chief inlet and outlet of the republic's commerce, has made it a great 
and powerful city. Here the estuary is much deeper than at Buenos 
Aires, so that large ships can come quite close to the shore. Break- 
waters have been run out and a good harbor constructed capable of 
accommodating vessels of deep draught. Unlike the Argentine side 
of the estuary, which is low and flat, the northern side on which 
Montevideo stands rises well up from the shore, giving a fine view 
to the city, as well as a splendid view of it from the water approach, 
the tall buildings and church towers standing out in bold relief 
against the sky-line. However, there are not many tall buildings, 
not even as many in comparison to population as in Buenos Aires, 
and as in the case of the latter, the architecture for the most part 
is modern, seemingly fashioned after the French style. The main 
portion of the city, the business section, lies upon a tongue or narrow 
strip of land jutting out into the river, or rather estuary. This tongue 
is of limestone formation, having very little of a top-soil and rising 
in the center to an apex somewhat after the manner of a house ridge. 
The streets run north and south like a series of terraces, one rising 
above the other, thus giving a natural drainage which makes the 
foundations very dry and consequently the place very healthy. In- 
deed, Montevideo is said to be the healthiest city in the world, and 
it is by far the cleanest on the continent of South America. In fact 
there is no city more beautifully situated, and viewed from any direc- 
tion the prospect is a pleasing one. There is only one drawback, 
and that is the searching winds known as the pamperos which, dur- 
ing the winter, sweep the whole southern half of South America 
from the Andes to the Atlantic, filling space, crack and crevice, nook 
and fissure with fine dust. This dust clogs the nostrils and cakes 
the lips, while the wind parches and cracks the skin at times. 'Tis a 
consolation that these pamperos are confined to one season of the 
year. When they pass, the city, in regard to climate, to air, to bright 
sunshine, to scenery and general mode of living, becomes a kind of 
earthly paradise, where one is fain to linger and forget the cares 
and worries of the outside world. There are no evidences of squalor 



402 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

or poverty in this city, the people seem brisk and thriving, there 
seems to be work for all and money for all, and there is a general 
look of contentment on the faces of the people you meet on the 
streets, in the public stores and on the cars. That there are degrees 
of wealth goes without saying, but the well-to-do classes do not flaunt 
their riches with the ostentation or outward show that is character- 
istic of the wealthy Portehos. It looks as if there was a sort of com- 
mon social intercourse in Montevideo which is as pleasing as it is 
gratifying to those who look upon mankind as one family on the 
same plane irrespective of the freaks of fortune or the caprices of 
fate. All take a common pride in their city and all love to expatiate 
on its beauties, its importance, its commanding position as a com- 
mercial emporium. Almost any one you meet will be willing to point 
out the sights and enlighten you on any question you may care to ask 
about the city or its people. If you want to go to any objective point 
or place of interest you need not be at a loss to find the way. Hail 
the first one you meet, and the chances are that he will not alone 
give you the directions, but tell you all about the place and likely he 
will insist on accompanying you. For instance, if you wish to go to 
the "Calle Viente y Cinco de Mayo" (the Twenty-fifth of May 
Street), you will be told not alone how to find it, but will get a his- 
tory of Uruguayan struggles and proudly be informed that the street 
is so named to commemorate the day of the national independence 
of the country. 

The nomenclature of many of the places is strange and curious, 
and in some cases far from applicable. Imagination had much to 
do with naming some of them. For example, Rio de la Plata means 
the "silver river," but so far from being silvery it is as muddy look- 
ing as a duck-pond in the drought of summer. Again, Argentine 
means "land of silver," but was not thus called on account of silver 
mines being found there, simply in anticipation of them, so as to 
attract settlers. Montevideo means "I see the mountain," and in 
this instance there was some application, though the mountain that 
was seen and can still be seen is not much of an eminence. It is 
merely the hill now called the Cerro, an isolated conical pile on the 
southwestern side of the bay. There is a picturesque old fortress 
on its crest, presumably for the purpose of guarding the city, but as 
far as such guardianship is concerned the place is merely a joke from 
a practical standpoint. The hill is used as a lighthouse-station, and 
serves the purpose very well. At night the revolving light on the 
tower can be seen for twenty-five miles out at sea. When a land 



MONTEVIDEO AND THE EASTERN COAST 403 

breeze is blowing the position of the hill can be located without the 
light, for an abattoir, or slaughter-house, is located upon it, from 
which comes a very strong odor. We made a trip to the Cerro and 
obtained a very fine view of the harbor and bay with the waters 
swirling around in their horseshoe enclosure, which is some six miles 
in circumference. 

There are many handsome plazas in the city, artistically laid out, 
and planted with choice arborage and foliage which captivate the eye. 
In the center of the city are two large public squares. One is the 
Plaza Constitucion which is used as a military parade-ground and on 
which front the Military Barracks and the Government Building. 
The other is the Plaza Washington, named in honor of our own 
immortal Washington, though there are few Americans from the 
United States in the city. 

The hotels, clubs, theaters and shops are close together, so that 
one hasn't to go far afield to see the life of the place. The hotels 
are on the European plan, and are clean and comfortable. The fare 
generally consists of a desayuno, or morning cup of coffee, an elab- 
orate breakfast at noon and a good substantial dinner with wines at 
six o'clock. The rate is from $3 to $6 per day. Plere I may state 
that the currency is not the same as in the other republics ; money 
is on a gold basis, and when an exchange is made to native coin, one 
is surprised to find the number of his dollars decreased instead of 
increased. In Argentina you can get about $3 for $1, but in Monte- 
video an American dollar is worth only 96 cents. Therefore, every- 
thing is dear and money does not go so far. In Argentina you are 
charged $8 a day at the hotels, but that rate is one gold dollar 
cheaper than the $3 rate in Montevideo. There are some silver dol- 
lars, and all the small change is in silver and nickel. The "tipping" 
system is in vogue in the hotels, but, unlike in England and the 
United States, the attendants do not expect you to "tip" them more 
than you pay the house. Ten cents will satisfy any one of them, 
and for fifty he is overcome with gratitude. During my stay I put 
up at the Grand Hotel Lanata facing the Plaza Constitucion. This 
is a good hostelry, which is deservedly popular; it is patronized by 
most tourists and sight-seers. The Hotel Oriental is said to be the 
best south of the Line. It is a magnificent building, constructed of 
pure Italian marble and is luxuriously appointed and furnished in 
keeping with modern ideas and the march of progress. 

There are half-a-dozen theaters and an Italian opera-house. The 
Solis Theater is a roomy, well-appointed building covering two 



404 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

acres with seats for over 3,000. Many of the greatest artists of the 
age have appeared in it. It has echoed the nightingale notes of Patti 
and the silver strains of Bernhardt. 

Of course there are many churches. The Cathedral is a solid 
structure with two towering cupolas at either side in front, sur- 
mounted by gilded crosses, and with a massive dome in the rear. 
Another noteworthy Roman church is that of the Immaculate Con- 
ception, erected from the contributions of the milkmen and market 
gardeners. It is attended better than the Cathedral, and, as in most 
of these Spanish churches, women make up by far the greater part 
of the congregations. The State religion, as in the other republics, 
is Roman Catholic, but Protestantism is freely tolerated and Prot- 
estants much better treated than in any of the other large cities of the 
continent. There are two Protestant churches and several Protestant 
schools. The city is well supplied with hospitals, homes and philan- 
thropic and charitable institutions. The Hospital de Caridad (Char- 
ity Hospital) is in charge of the Sisters of Charity and does good 
work in behalf of the sick and suffering. It is three stories high, 
three hundred feet long and has accomodation and beds for between 
three hundred and four hundred patients. It is maintained by means 
of a public lottery, that is to say, prizes are donated for which 
tickets are sold, and nearly all buy on chance of winning something. 
In this way large sums are annually raised. Another good institu- 
tion of the same kind, though not so large, is the British Hospital, 
where there is an excellent staff of physicians and surgeons and 
well-qualified nurses. 

There is a large foundling asylum which it is said receives more 
than three hundred babies yearly. It is claimed that Montevideo 
is an immoral city, and the excuse put forward is that the fees of the 
clergy for the marriage service are so high that the common people 
cannot afford to marry. This, however, seems a rather poor excuse 
for transgression of the moral law. 

Circling round the bay and fronting the waters are many beau- 
tiful villas or "quintas," the residences of wealthy citizens. The 
buildings show a picturesque style of architecture which is enhanced 
by the grouping and the floral setting in which they are embowered. 
They are splendidly furnished without any vulgar display, but with 
a taste and refinement that would do credit to the finest old mansions 
of continental Europe. In their general appearance these villas would 
be attractive to any city. 

A large number of the street houses are of three-story dimension, 



MONTEVIDEO AND THE EASTERN COAST 405 

built of stone, quarried nearby. Some are covered with stucco, 
painted in bright colors. 

As in the other large hives of population , trade is brisk, and con- 
sequently there are many fine emporiums and shops, well-filled, dis- 
playing the goods and wares of European and other countries, be- 
sides the native products and handiwork. One can find almost as 
varied and as good a selection from which to choose in the shops 
of Montevideo as in the big stores of our own country. Many of 
the merchants reside in the upper floors of their business houses, 
hence there are but few streets exclusively devoted to private resi- 
dences. 

The men and women of Montevideo dress well, they can afford to 
do so, but their taste is good and does not incline to extravagance or 
lavish display. Some travelers go so far as to say that the women 
and girls of this city are the most beautiful in the world, but it is 
not for me to give an opinion on this statement. Certainly they 
appear to good advantage on the streets, yet it seemed to me that 
many of the elderly ladies showed rather full outlines, in plain lan- 
guage they looked fat and heavy. But the younger ones ! Well, it 
would be hard to do justice to their physical charms, so I will not 
attempt the task, but leave them "alone in their glory," the glory of 
a Southern loveliness not encountered in Northern climes. Many 
are of that dreamy, spirituelle type of beauty such as the old masters 
loved to give to their Madonnas, and are as modest as they are 
captivating. Moreover, the women of this capital city of Uruguay 
are refined, with that polish of manner which education alone can 
confer. This reminds me, that Montevideo is well equipped with 
schools. The teachers are well fitted for their work, and conse- 
quently are able to train their pupils in a way which reflects credit 
upon themselves. 

There is a large University with about eighty professors and over 
six hundred students. Besides the ordinary college subjects there 
are courses in law, medicine and engineering. There are also a mili- 
tary college and an industrial school. 

The suburbs of the city are delightful. The Botanical Garden is 
a lovely spot, with a wonderful variety of trees and flowers, repre- 
sentative of both tropical and temperate climates. There you will 
see the Australian blue gums thriving better than in their own land, 
and great red roses which would put to shame the boasted beauties 
of English gardens. Not far from this is a menagerie or collection 
of wild animals in grounds belonging to a private gentleman who 



406 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

takes great interest in the specimens, which include lions, tigers, 
pumas, jaguars, ant-eaters and several other varieties representing 
the fauna of many lands. 

Needless to say, Montevideo is a city of electric-cars and electric- 
lights. The cars do a rushing business, for there are not many pri- 
vate vehicles, on account of the many hills and the steepness of the 
streets running up to the apex or ridge of the city. The trucking or 
heavy hauling is done in carts, to which two or three mules are har- 
nessed abreast, one inside the shafts and one at either side. The 
driver rides on one of the outside mules and as a rule is not very 
gentle in his treatment of the poor, toiling beasts. As we returned 
from the Cerro we passed many of these queer, clumsy wagons, 
which to us were an unique sight. They have huge wheels from six 
to eight feet high, with enormous hubs as large as bread-baskets, and 
shafts as long as clothes-poles. Most of them have only two wheels, 
the reason of which, as we learned, is accounted for by the fact that 
these carryalls are taxed according to the numbers of wheels. A 
two-wheeled wagon pays only half as much as one with four wheels. 
Having seen as much of this interesting city as we could for the 
time at our disposal, we resumed our journey northward by the 
steamer Nile, the same vessel which had brought us from New 
York to the Isthmus of Panama. We had a delightful sail along the 
shores of Southern Brazil. The climate is salubrious and the sea 
was at its best, as we churned through its blue depths, the waves lap- 
ping our prow and hull in a dreamy sort of way, their murmuring 
music having a tendency to lull the listener into introspection, con- 
templation and meditation. But the charm of sea and sky and land 
soon draws one away from himself and his own thoughts to the 
picture which nature unfolds around him. 

In places the shore was lined with a luxuriant glittering vegeta- 
tion, the air was soft and mellow, the water became a vivid blue, 
the sun shone from a translucent sky, and the long-winged frigate 
birds followed in our track, like spirits of the sea guarding us on our 
course. The large steamers go direct from Buenos Aires and Monte- 
video to Santos and Rio, and are out of sight of land nearly all the 
time, but the local or coasting steamers keep near the shore, making 
ports of call and occupying about six days on the thousand-mile trip. 
Rio Grande, the most southern port of Brazil, has possibilities for 
making a fine harbor. It is a good-sized town and is the seat of a 
seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Other stopping-places 
are Sao Francisco, Itajahy, Paranagua and Curitiba. 





v4 : '(TW 

- > ! If 

mm 











HARBOR FRONT, SANTOS, BRAZIL 




SANTOS, BRAZIL 



407 



MONTEVIDEO AND THE EASTERN COAST 409 

We went ashore at Santos, the coffee port par excellence of Brazil. 
There were ships of many nations lying in the harbor, which has 
been deepened to accommodate large vessels. The Brazilians, aided 
by British money and engineering skill, have made this harbor the 
very best on the coast. It is the only one where steamers can lie 
alongside the pier and where passengers and stevedores can get from 
dock to dock, and vice versa, without launches and tenders. Form- 
erly this place was a hotbed of yellow fever, and seamen dreaded to 
enter it. Captains, while in port, were afraid to permit their crews 
to go ashore. But a great change has been effected in recent years. 
The deepening of the harbor, drainage operations, other improve- 
ments and a strict observance of sanitary laws have made the town 
comparatively healthy, and "Yellow Jack" rarely breaks out nowa- 
days. An amphitheatre of mountains surrounds the broad, flat valley 
behind Santos, through which the river flows to form the port 
These mountains, or rather big hills, are generally covered with mist. 
Colored buildings and gaily painted houses line the shore, most of 
them shaded by palm-trees with their long fan-like leaves drooping 
clown toward the white sands of the beach. In the main part of the 
town the streets are mostly of the three-story type, and painted in all 
the colors of the rainbow. Along the edge of the harbor are huge 
warehouses for the storage of coffee. Ships are being constantly 
loaded with the aromatic beans. All day long, and in season all night 
as well, there is a string of husky porters carrying sacks from the 
warehouses and railroad freight-yards to the ships along the wharf. 
The busy season is from August to January, when from 2,500 to 
3,000 tons of coffee are shipped daily to various countries, especially 
to the United States. At present the value of the coffee exported 
from Santos amounts to almost $100,000,000 a year. There is evi- 
dence of the coffee industry at every turn ; you smell coffee in the 
air ; you see coffee carriers in every street. You come to large rooms 
besides the warehouses where half-clad negroes are shoveling the 
beans into bags ; you find other negroes sewing and closing the bags ; 
you watch men and women sorting the beans into grades, and in the 
cafes you meet all kinds of people drinking the beverage. 

The great trade in coffee gives an enormous traffic to the railway 
between Santos and Sao Paulo, the metropolis of the coffee-produc- 
ing interior. This is a very remarkable piece of railway. We made 
a little journey on it to Serra da Alto, lying in the highlands a few 
miles back of Santos. It was built in 1867, but its most difficult por- 
tion was laid out anew some fifteen years ago along a better line. 



410 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

This part testifies to the skill of the British engineers who con- 
structed it. As already stated, an amphitheater of high hills sur- 
rounds the valley back of Santos ; these hills are the beginning of a 
plateau about 2,500 feet above the valley ; on the edge the plateau ap- 
pears serrated, like a range of mountains and is known as Serra da 
Mar (Sea Range). In order to reach the plateau from the valley 
the railroad had to climb 3,500 feet in six miles which means a gra- 
dient of about eight per cent from the bottom to the top of the slope. 
This involved a great feat of engineering. The road is a combina- 
tion of a funicular and a cable. It is constructed in a series of five 
inclines on which the trains are operated by steel-cable haulage, each 
incline having its own power-house and haulage plant. When we 
arrived at the foot of the plateau after passing over the flat-lands 
which lead from Santos, our train was attached to a steel cable and 
hauled for a considerable distance up the mountain to a stationary 
steam-engine. After reaching this first engine-house another cable 
was attached, which hauled us to the second, and so on until we 
reached the top. To insure safety a locomotive brake is attached to 
the last car of each ascending and descending train; besides, the 
ascent and descent are made simultaneously each way. There are 
other precautionary devices too intricate to describe. It was a novel 
tour to us and relieved the monotony of our sea-voyage. On the 
short trip from Santos to Serra da Alto we passed through groves 
of luscious bananas and forests of dreamy palms, mounted steep 
acclivities and threaded dark ravines under lofty overarching trop- 
ical vegetation and trees, between the boughs of which the deep azure 
of the sky was dimly visible. Arriving at the little elevated station 
we sipped some coffee, black as ink and strong as brandy, the while 
enjoying the view and watching the natives lounging about the doors 
of their small but neat homes, until it was time to return to Santos 
and our steamer. 

It is said that the Sao Paulo and Santos line of railroad ranks next 
to that of Panama as the best paying one in South America. The 
dividends assignable to shareholders are restricted, and the large sur- 
plus is spent by the directors in making the road not only one of 
great efficiency but rendering it elegant and sumptuous in every fea- 
ture. Sao Paulo is now considered the most up-to-date city in Brazil, 
although it is one of the oldest, having been founded in 1553 by a 
Jesuit missionary. It has grown rapidly and at present has a popu- 
lation of almost half a million. It is the heart, the radial location 
of the great coffee region around it, and the volume of trade which 
passes through it is enormous. 




UNLOADING COFFEE, SANTOS 




THE CATHEDRAL, SANTOS 



MONTEVIDEO AND THE EASTERN COAST 413 

It is only a day's steaming from Santos to Rio, a distance of about 
two hundred and fifteen miles. It was with keen anticipation we en- 
tered the channel, leading into the bay of the famous Southern city, a 
bay which many authorities claim to be the most beautiful in the 
world, outrivaling that of Naples and surpassing in scenic loveliness 
our own world-famed Golden Gate of San Francisco. 



CHAPTER XVII 

IN RIO DE JANEIRO 

The Most Picturesque City in South America 

Next to Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro is the largest city in South 
America, its present population being one million in round numbers. 
It is also the most picturesque city. Here nature has lavished her 
gifts with no unstinted hand, in fact has scattered her rarest trea- 
sures with such a prodigality that probably nowhere else in the world 
can the traveler come across such a display of beauty in every con- 
ceivable shape and form, earth and sky and sea combining to make 
the place a veritble fairyland of wonders which captivates and en- 
trances at every turn. 

The harbor, if not the loveliest in the aggregate, has distinctive 
features which differentiate it from all others and give it a charm 
that appeals to all. Even the most blase globe-trotter, surfeited with 
the sights and scenes of many lands, to whom little is novel beneath 
the sun, comes under the spell of its beauties and feels his flagging 
interests aroused by its wonderful charm. Everywhere the eye takes 
in a view which is worthy subject for a painter's brush, but no artist 
is capable of doing justice to the scenes of beauty which spread 
before the sight. The peculiar blue of the sky, the sheen of the 
waters, the green of the palms and other arborage, the hues of the 
multicolored flowers, the varied tints of the houses defy the pen of 
description ; nor can artistic genius copy their combined effect to 
show even a faint representation of its witching beauty which has a 
glamor and glory that enthral the senses and enwrap the soul in an 
ecstasy of wondering delight. The picture is one which indelibly 
limns itself on the retina of memory, and only memory can call it 
forth in all its charm and attractiveness. No sensitized plate of the 

414 




BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF RIO DE JANEIRO 




RIO FROM GLORIA HILL 










< 



BEIRA MAR, SHOWING SUGAR LOAF, RIO 




STREET SCENE, RIO 



IN UNRIVALED RIO 419 

photographei 's art can reproduce it in its wealth of details and mag- 
nificent coloring. Therefore Rio and its harbor to the traveler can 
remain but a memory, yet a very vivid one since it fixes itself in such 
a way that the passing of the years cannot obliterate the impression. 

Rio harbor was first sighted by the Portuguese navigator, De Solis, 
in 1515 and by Magellan the following year. It was called the 
Nictheroy, or Hidden Water, by the Tamoyo natives who dwelt 
there. There is a town called Nictheroy lying to the north of Rio, 
inside the harbor entrance. It was on the first of January, 1532, that 
De Solis, with a band of Portuguese adventurers, sailed into the 
landlocked bay. Passing through the gateway or narrow channel 
into the magnificent bay — an island studded expanse of water sur- 
rounded by an amphitheater of mountains, green and glowing in 
their eternal verdure — De Solis and his companions through it must 
surely be the mouth of a large river leading into some land of 
enchantment, and to commemorate the day on which they first 
looked upon it, they named the place the River of January, and so 
set it down in their charts. Though it was soon determined that the 
name was a misnomer, as no large river emptied into the bay, only 
a few minor streams, the appellation stuck, and Rio de Janeiro it 
remained, but nowadays the city is popularly and shortly called Rio. 

No settlement was made until 1566. Then a few Portuguese colo- 
nists made their way hither and soon the nucleus of a township arose 
above the shimmering waters. First a citadel was built on the hill 
now known as Morro de Castillo. Then, in keeping with their cus- 
toms and traditions, the settlers chose a patron saint, their choice 
falling on San Sebastian. To honor him a church, bearing his name, 
was erected near the citadel. This ancient structure is still standing 
as a memorial of that early time and in it repose the remains of the 
leader of the first colonists, Estacio de Sa. 

The wonderful far-famed harbor of Rio, of which artists rave and 
poets dream, is about one hundred miles in circumference, scooped 
in granite and walled in by the foothills of the Organ Mountains, 
whose sides and crests are clothed in perpetual verdure. These fan- 
tastically shaped piles, with their forests of palms and other trees 
and gorgeous coverings of tropical vegetation, form a superb setting 
to the impressive grandeur of the scene. The approach to the harbor 
is through a narrow channel about a mile wide, between rocky prom- 
ontories on which forts have been erected. Were it not for this 
channel or entrance the bay would be as a lake surrounded on all 
sides by land. It is not to be wondered at that the early Portuguese 



420 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

navigators, without further investigation, took it for the mouth of a 
river. 

As we strolled about the steamer just before landing, the water 
was as a sheet of silver in the sunlight ; not a ripple was to be seen 
to divert our attention from the little emerald isles and verdant shore, 
nor did a cloud obscure the brightness of the azure sky. All was 
serene and fair and lovely as a young saint's dream of paradise. It 
looked as if heaven were smiling on that delightful scene ,and that 
the waters were reflecting back the smile. A celestial glory seemed 
to rest on harbor, city and mountain-top, and one could not help 
thinking that peace and tranquillity, joy and gladness and gratitude 
and thankfulness should be in the hearts of the people so favored by 
nature and by heaven with suuch surroundings, but it is to be doubted 
if the inhabitants ever think of the beneficence of a kindly providence 
and the beauties which nature strews at their feet. 

As we looked shoreward the red-topped roofs of the city stood 
out plainly distinct against the green-clothed mountains in the back- 
ground, with the sunlight bathing both in a glorious luster, giving 
such scenic effect as recalled to memory the stories we had read of 
the sinless Eden before the Fall. Dull words are inadequate to de- 
scribe that vista of loveliness, it must be left to the imagination, nor 
can I portray the buoyancy of spirit and elevation of mind I experi- 
enced when looking upon it, nor the feelings it inspired, nor how it 
raised my thoughts on the wings of reverence and adoration to the 
Almighty Architect of the Universe who manifests His power in the 
appealing beauty as well as in the sublimity of His creations. 

At the entrance of the harbor to our left rose the famous Pao de 
Assucar, or old Sugar Loaf Mountain, a conical pile of almost bare 
granite towering up to a height of 3,000 feet. This hill has often 
been pictured and is talked of all over the world. It is very steep 
and can be scaled at but one point, and there by only the boldest 
climbers. Beyond, and hanging over the city, as it were, towered 
the still loftier Mount Corcovado (the Hunchback), with its peak 
seeming to pierce the sky. Next appeared Gavia (the Topsail), 
with almost perpendicular sides and flat, table-like top. Farther 
still the eye caught the bold outlines of the Dois Irmaos (Two 
Brothers), .fantastically formed piles rising to a great height 
Indeed, mountain after mountain extended away to the sky-line, and 
the modern city spread out like an ancient Rome over its amphi- 
theater of hills and intervening valleys, resting on its eternal founda- 




AN OLD DWELLING ON CASTLE HILL, RIO 




OVER RED ROOFS AND THRO' TALL PALMS 



421 



2 jEHSP 




^^ i. fg 

'-Ml* 




SANTA ANNA CHURCH, RIO 




HOTEL INTERNATIONAL. SANTA THERESA, RIO 



423 



IN UNRIVALED RIO 425 

tions of granite, defying tempest and tide to disturb its rock-ribbed 
repose. 

We stopped at quarantine, not far from the Sugar Loaf. At that 
time the dock-works, now almost completed, were not available for 
landing, so steamers had to anchor about a mile off shore, while pas- 
sengers and freight were taken off in lighters. A British firm is 
carrying out a contract for the harbor improvement and soon Rio 
will have a wide quay of solid masonry extending along the entire 
northern front to a deep artificial channel, through which ships 
of the heaviest draught can pass. There will be all modern facilities 
for the handling of freight and this will give a great impetus to the 
trade and commerce of the place. 

As it was, passengers had to bargain with boatmen to row them 
ashore, the charge being about five milreis for each person. All 
light baggage was examined by custom officials sent on board for 
the purpose, but the heavier pieces were not allowed on the small 
boats ,and had to remain until taken off by the tender to the alfdn- 
dega, or custom-house, on shore. 

When landed, the next consideration is to look out for a good 
hotel. At Fifteenth-of-November Square you can hire a tilbury to 
take you where you wish to go. This is a peculiar conveyance, a 
two-wheeled gig on springs, with only one seat for the passenger 
beside the driver. In old Rio there were few good hotels, none to 
compare with those in Buenos Aires or Santiago, and strangers had 
to be very careful to avoid the numerous pensions, or boarding- 
houses, most of which were merely disreputable quarters. A great 
change has taken place and now there are splendid hostelries on the 
new Avenida and some fairly good ones on the Cottete, or main 
street along the bay. Formerly travelers were advised to go to hotels 
at Corcovado or Petropolis to escape the yellow fever and other dis- 
eases then common in Rio, but such necessity has been obviated, as 
modern science, the improvements in the city, the doing away with 
open street sewers and adherence to sanitary laws have banished 
"Yellow Jack" and other plagues and rendered Rio as healthy and 
clean as any other city of its size elsewhere. 

However, we did not go to a hotel in the city proper, but chose the 
Internacional, situated above Rio at Santa Theresa, where old Cor- 
covado, like a huge giant, hung over us as if protecting the place be- 
neath his sheltering crest. We reached it by way of the electric train, 
following the old gray stone aqueduct, wriggling zigzag fashion like 
a worm fence through the cool forest. It was a pleasant yet strange 



426 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

ride. As we looked to the left we could see far below us the Laran- 
jeiros Valley, interspersed here and there with red roofs and white 
walls, and beyond the blue bay of Rio, with its many green islands 
appearing so small in the distance that they looked like emerald dots 
on a sapphire screen. As we proceeded upward the air became cooler 
and our car passed through dense foliage, which kept the rays of 
the sun from penetrating. Here the old aqueduct looked very quaint 
and beautiful in its coating of dark-green moss. 

Nearing Lagoinha we came to great sweeps of the immense poin- 
setta-trees, their deep red leaves glistening against the vivid green ; 
also many other varieties of arborage with climbing parasites and 
vines and creepers intertwining around their boles and branches ; at 
some places an opening would occur in the dense foliage permitting 
the sunlight to flood the roadway, making a brilliant contrast with the 
deep shade beneath the trees . We passed many lovely little villas 
with yards full of roses and other tropical flowers picturesquely ar- 
ranged and exhaling a delightful perfume on the still air. On the 
whole the journey revealed a series of wonderful views, each worthy 
the brush of a master and none of them commonplace enough to be 
forgotten in years. 

One might wish to be buried somewhere here amid these tropical 
scenes so indescribably picturesque and sublime, where the swish of 
the leaves would sigh for him an everlasting requiem and the smile of 
the sunshine give eternal hope of a resurrection morn. 

The view from the hotel embraces the harbor, the Sugar Loaf and 
the suburbs of Botofogo, and is one which emotionally appeals to all, 
arousing feelings of rapture and delight which well might excite the 
envy of angels, and which cause mortals to burst forth in ejacula- 
tions of praise and wonder. You can imagine these views in the calm 
light of sunset, either from the train or from an easy chair in the 
hotel grounds, when the air is soft and soothing, playing through the 
translucent leaves of the foliage, when old Mother Nature takes on 
her gentlest mood ere reposing for the night. If you wish to diver- 
sify the view you can rise before dawn on some foggy morning when 
the scenery changes its sunlight aspect and assumes an appearance 
indescribable in uniqueness and charm. The mountains below, as 
they rise up above the mists, look like little islands scattered through 
a white sea, and as the fog vanishes in the morning glow, the eye 
can wander in rapturous observation over an endless variety of pic- 
turesque and glorious combinations, all presenting a charming aspect 
of the most diversified and impressive character. On a clear day an 




ROYAL PALMS, BOTANIC GARDEN, RIO 



427 




DOM PEDRO MONUMENT, RIO 



439 



IN UNRIVALED RIO 431 

area of fifty square miles can be seen by the unaided eye. One of 
the landmarks in this neighborhood is the old and famous convent of 
Santa Theresa where, in bygone times, the women were placed for 
safe-keeping while their husbands were off on military expeditions. 
The old Carioca Aqueduct, along which we passed when coming up, 
was constructed in 1744. It was abandoned years ago, yet it is very 
well preserved, although broken in many places. The water-supply 
is now conveyed by a new pipe system. 

I have seen many seascapes and landscapes in my wanderings 
over the world — scenes which thrilled the heart of the romancer and 
gave magic genius to the brush of the painter, but to me the view 
of Rio and its harbor from the Hunchback Mountain excelled in 
beauty, wealth of coloring and appealing charm all that my eyes had 
hitherto rested upon and nowhere else on earth can I hope to see 
it duplicated. 

Since its foundation Rio has experienced many changes. Begin- 
ning as a small settlement of adventurers, it has been successively 
the capital of a Capitancia, a Province, a Kingdom, an Empire and a 
Republic. For upward of two centuries Brazil was the seat of Por- 
tuguese power on the Western continent. The royal family of Por- 
tugal sought its shores when the Eagle of Napoleon flapped its wings 
above a throne, and Rio became the center of the wealth and pomp, 
the splendor and gayety of an extravagant and powerful Court. 
When the Eagle's wings were clipped and Napoleon overthrown, 
Royalty returned to the home land. An independent Empire was then 
established in Brazil ,and the son of the reigning monarch of Por- 
tugal, Dom Pedro I, was chosen as ruler of the new nation. This 
was in 1822. Nine years later, the people, becoming dissatisfied, this 
monarch was forced to abdicate. His son, a mere boy, succeeded him 
as Pedro II. During his minority a regency directed the affairs of 
the country, but on coming of age, Pedro asserted himself and be- 
came a wise and able ruler. He was an enlightened prince, a lover 
of science, art and letters. The country progressed under him, for 
he inspired the confidence of European countries so that loans and 
securities were easily negotiated. He ruled until 1889, when a mili- 
tary conspiracy and the resentment of planters and slave-owners over 
the abolition of slavery, caused a revolution and Dom Pedro II was 
dethroned. The revolutionists seized the palace in Rio, the Emperor 
was taken prisoner and he and his family shipped off to Europe. 
General de Fonseca proclaimed himself President of the Republic 
and soon despotism and anarchy took the place of the peace and pros- 



432 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

perity the country had enjoyed under the sixty years' rule of the 
good Dom Pedro. 

Affairs have much improved in the United States of Brazil since 
then, though there is still a strong leaven of discontent. Each man 
and party are out for themselves all the time, endeavoring to further 
their own interests at the expense of those of others, as is the case 
in almost all republics. There are many factions in Brazilian poli- 
tics at the present time. State issues are crossed by federal issues, 
and in turn, the latter are confused by the former. Still, there is one 
cause of dissension absent, a cause which has distracted the other 
Spanish-American Republics and that is the struggle of church and 
clericalism against the principles of religious equality, for the sepa- 
ration of church and state is complete throughout Brazil and neither 
church nor religion seems to have any influence whatever upon the 
thought or actions of the laity. 

That great progress has been made ,and within a short time, in 
material advancement cannot be denied. Large towns have sprung 
up, the cities have increased in population, their architecture has been 
remodeled, the laws of sanitation enforced and the mode of living 
revolutionized. This advancement is strikingly seen in the capital 
city. Within the past ten years or so Rio has been metamorphosed 
from a city of antiquated streets and old-fashioned open-sewered, 
foul-smelling thoroughfares into a splendid metropolis of stately ar- 
chitecture with broad avenues and beautiful boulevards well lighted 
and having every addenda and appurtenance in keeping with the 
trend of national progress and prosperity. 

The Avenida Central is known as the "eleven million dollar boule- 
vard,'" and is certainly one of the finest streets in the world. It is 
not as yet fully completed. It extends for a mile, starting at a sec- 
tion of the city called the Maua and continuing through the heart of 
the capital to the Monroe Palace. It is one hundred and five feet 
in breadth, with wide pavements of mosaic in unique designs. There 
are rows of Brazilian palms along each curb and one down the center, 
which gives an appearance somewhat similar to a French boulevard. 
Fine buildings of really artistic design line either side. Among these 
are the National Library, the Opera House, the Municipal Building 
and the offices of the leading newspapers. This magnificent street 
was constructed in an incredibly short space of time conisdering the 
work which had to be accomplished. Its site was a tangle of narrow, 
ill-smelling streets and lanes which was an eyesore to the city as well 
as positively deleterious to the health of the inhabitants. The rau- 




A BREAD-FRUIT TREE, RIO 




STREET HUCKSTERS, RIO 



IN UNRIVALED RIO 437 

nicipal government purchased the ground at a large figure and im- 
mediately set a force of 3,000 men at work in day and night shifts, 
pulling down the old buildings and removing the debris. Then the 
new construction began, and inside of two years the splendid avenue 
which is now the pride of the city was almost completed, at a cost 
approximated at eleven million dollars. 

It was from this avenue that we set out, on our first morning in 
Rio, to see the sights of the wonderful city of magnificent views. 
Buenos Aires, as we have shown, is not entitled to that name, but Rio 
is entitled to the name of Buenas Vistas, "City of Beautiful Vistas." 
To get posted on the principal buildings, landmarks and streets, we 
called at a little card shop to purchase some picture postals. These 
picture cards are very plentiful but on the whole the photographs 
are poor, for it is difficult to get good illustrations in Rio. The at- 
mosphere is damp, which renders it hard to successfully develop the 
films or plates. We picked out a dozen or so of views and then com- 
menced the trouble of finding out how much we were to pay for 
them. We learned that the total cost was 2,000 reis, — dois milreis. 
This may sound as a very extravagant price, but when the monetary 
basis of the currency is considered the large figures becomes less 
formidable. It is easy to become a millionaire in Rio if you reckon 
your wealth in reis, for one million reis are equivalent to about $300 
of our money. You may feel like a Rockefeller or a Carnegie when 
you come out of the bank with a package of bills amounting to 
many thousands of reis, but you are quickly disillusioned when it 
comes to paying expenses. A few thousand reis go but a small way 
in settling your hotel bill. It takes three hundred reis to mail a letter, 
and a street-car ride costs you four hundred. The reis is an infini- 
tesimally small coin, and a thousand of them, that is, one milreis, are 
equal to only about 30 cents. So our dozen cards, after all, cost us 
but 60 cents in United States money. The currency is in paper, and 
very dirty paper it is. 

The language is almost as bad as the money. Portuguese is mostly 
used, but to me it sounded like a patois of Spanish. I tried to get 
along with ordinary Spanish, but failing in this I fell back on 
French and managed to make myself understood in that language, 
especially with the better class of the natives who more or less un- 
derstand and speak that tongue. 

In order to acquire an acquaintance with the relative bearings of 
the city and scenery we mounted Castle Hill, from where we en- 
joyed a fine vista of the red tile roof tops and the waters of the bay, 



438 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

as well as the windings of the streets climbing up the hills and run- 
ning down into the valleys. We were able to take in the general "lay" 
of the city and its environments and get a good idea of its principal 
landmarks and ramifications. 

Returning we took the "Bond" or electric train from the Avenida 
Central and rode along toward Botofogo passing many narrow 
streets with houses of different heights and colors, some with stores, 
above which the proprietors live. As there are no back-yards or 
gardens ,the only place the people have for taking an airing is in 
little balconies which extend out from each story of the house. 

The "Bonds," as they are called, which are the means of rapid tran- 
sit in Rio, are simply American trolley-cars run by a company com- 
posed of American and Canadian capitalists. There are two classes 
of these cars, the first-class being devoted to well-dressed persons 
without bundles and the second to the working-classes with heavy 
packages. The origin of the name is curious. When the system was 
first inaugurated, the people had heard much about American 
bonds in connection with the negotiation, hence the name was 
applied to the cars, and it has clung to them ever since. 

Many of the streets were thronged with carts, wagons, pannier 
mules and donkeys carrying the wares of the peddlers and hucksters, 
consisting of vegetables, fruits, fowls, fish, bread, cakes and doces 
(sweets) . The vegetables are generally placed in large baskets which 
are slung over the backs of the animals with a rope attachment, one 
on either side. Sometimes the venders carry the baskets suspended 
from a long pole placed across their own shoulders. The cakes and 
doces are usually in glass cases which are borne around on the head. 
Bread and confectionery are also carried on the head in receptacles 
like a baby's crib, lined with red flannel. This head-carrying method 
is quite characteristic of the place, and reminds one of the Italian 
burden-bearers of our Northern cities. In fact everything that is not 
too heavy is hoisted on to the head and, thus laden, the peripatetic 
merchants make their way from door to door and from place to place. 
These itinerant street-hawkers keep up a constant and raucous din 
calling out their wares. Some use tin whistles, some horns, while 
others clap sticks together to herald their approach. The fowl-ped- 
dlers crush as many as twenty live chickens and roosters into a bas- 
ket and with the cackling and crowing of these and the whoops and 
shouts of the sellers a very Babel of discordant noise is kept up which 
is very trying to the ears of strangers. 

On the streets we saw people of many shades of color, from the 







* 



A CHICKEN PEDDLER, RIO 




"CHICKENS FOR SALE"— ANOTHER STYLE 




"DULCES" PEDDLER, RIO 




"SWEET DRINKS," RIO 



IN UNRIVALED RIO 443 

blond-haired Teuton with pink cheeks and blue eyes to the dark- 
orbed Spaniard with raven curls and swarthy skin. Of the so-called 
colored class the representatives ranged in complexion from black 
coffee to lightest chocolate. Most of the natives are dark-visaged. 

Coming to the bay we passed beautiful "palacetes," or residences, 
commanding a view overlooking the harbor and the shore drive. 
Here we left the train and turned up the Gloria Hill, but not before 
taking a rest on a low wall put up to prevent the unwary from tum- 
bling down the steep embankment. The top of this hill recalled to us 
the Scripture idea of a city on a hill, but not "from the top of Her- 
mon" or any other mount of old was the scene more enchanting. 
Upon this hill is situated the quaint, old, white-washed church of 
Nossa Senhora da Gloria, a fitting place to rest and meditate if one 
is inclined that way. Coming down from the top we passed old gray 
walls over which hung poinsettas, with their flaming flowers, and 
other trees rich in foliage and blossoms, many of them entwined with 
parasitic growths. There were also tangles of vines with great or- 
chids blooming among them, which would command a high price in 
the cities of the United States. 

We took the train again and were whirled along to a beautiful lake 
of about two miles in diameter, which is connected with the ocean. 
On the way we passed many handsome residences. The Chapa, or 
conductor, called out "Jardim Botanico," and we got out to view this 
wonderland of nature. This garden is situated between the Cor- 
covado and the sea. A neat hedge of Brazilian thorn separates it 
from the dusty road. It is said that there is only one flower-garden 
in all the world superior to that of Rio, and it is in Buitenzorg in 
Java. I have seen this garden, and in comparing it with that of Rio 
I would give the palm, the precedence to the latter. Rio's "Jardim" 
is simply gorgeous in its loveliness, a treasure-house of tropical 
beauty which dazzles the eye with the richness of its flowers and 
plants and trees. Walking along its gravel pathways we saw many 
strange and novel specimens, among which an amateur botanist might 
revel for hours. Of the many curious products of nature we ob- 
served, the bread-fruit tree appealed to us most, not that we were 
hungry or in need of partaking of its rough spheroidal treasures, 
which somewhat resemble a green pineapple, though the covering is 
not so spiny nor the fruit as long. W r hen fully matured the fruit 
turns yellow. In its green or unripe state it contains a milky juice, 
and when the edible stage is reached it resembles fresh bread, being 
white and mealy. It is then slightly tart. When baked it is sweetish 



444 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

and somewhat astringent, but otherwise tasteless. It is generally 
used by being beaten into a paste with cocoanut milk, but sometimes 
it is served with bananas and plantains. The tree itself grows to a 
height of about forty feet and the stem or bole is branchless for about 
halfway up. The leaves are dark green, some three feet long, and 
have from three to nine lobes. It produces several crops in the year. 
We saw great clusters of bamboos, some of the stalks being over 
fifty feet long. The leaves were feathery and very pretty and 
afforded a fine shade. 

In coming out of this paradise of flowers and plants we stopped 
under the magnificent avenue of palm-trees that is unsurpassed in the 
world. Rio is the home of the royal palm ; it is all over, and as "a 
thing of beauty" cannot be excelled. These noble trees with their 
circular columns tower up to a height of from one hundred to two 
hundred feet. Their symmetrical shafts of silver-gray, smooth as 
a billiard-ball, are bare to the top, where they end in a canopy of 
graceful, fern-like green leaves which remind one of a huge feather- 
duster. Many of the residences are surrounded by them and they 
serve better than marble columns or fluted pillars. Nowhere are they 
seen to better advantage than in this splendid avenue of the Botanic 
Garden, for their great height and bare stems strikingly contrast with 
the other arborage and vegetation. 

On our ride we had wound around mountains, skirted hills, swept 
through valleys, passed beautiful villas and looked upon glittering 
lakes reflecting back the sunshine, yet we had only made a seven-mile 
trip from where we first started, and measured as the crow flies, 
it would not have been half that distance. 

On our return we stopped just before we reached the Aveniia 
Central at the "Passeio Publico," or public walks. This is a pretty 
little park situated near the Monroe Palace. It has very fashionable 
and popular promenades. The entrance is unpretentious but within 
there are serpentine canals, lovely walks and some small jets d'eaux 
which flash and sparkle in iridescent beauty in the sunlight. From 
the terrace, which is neatly constructed, having at each end an oc- 
tagonal house, there is a splendid view of the harbor, the Sugar Loaf 
and the Gloria Hill. 

Though Rio has been metamorphosed in recent years from an 
architectural standpoint, many features of the old city still remain. 
The chief of these is the famous old Ouvidor, a unique street which 
might be termed the Broadway of the Capital, that is, in a business 
sense, for it is far from broad as a thoroughfare. In fact it is so nar- 




'NOT ALL IS CARRIED ON FOOT," RIO 




OUAINT STREET VENDER, RIO 




FRONT OF A DRINK SHOP, RIO 




THE MONROE PALACE, AVENIDA CENTRAL, RIO 



447 



IN UNRIVALED RIO 449 

row that vehicles are not permitted in it at all. It is crowded every 
minute of the day by throngs of shoppers, business men, loungers 
and those who simply come to see the sights and gossip. Many of the 
best stores are here, and there is a cafe or restaurant at almost every 
turn. Sometimes so dense is the mass of humanity that it is difficult 
to make way through the place. A great annoyance is the lottery 
peddlers, who accost you at every turn, importuning you to take a 
chance. It is also a great resort for the politicians. Here the office- 
seeker holds receptions on the sidewalks, here the representatives 
come to feel the pulse of their constituents, and here the people dis- 
cuss the relative merits of those seeking their suffrage. Here, also, 
and too often, are plots laid and hatched which result in crime and 
bloodshed. The houses which line this street are old, of from one to 
three stories, but they put forth a brave show as far as paint is con- 
cerned, being daubed in all the coloring of the rainbow — pink, yellow, 
white ,blue, brown and green. Being so irregular in height they cut 
the sky-line in a serrated appearance like the teeth of a saw, minus a 
tooth here and there. 

Some of the stores along the Ouvidor are very good. There are 
many jewelers' shops. Everybody has heard of Brazilian diamonds. 
They are very fine stones, although they are not popular with Yankee 
lapidaries, and the setting does not show as good workmanship as 
we are accustomed to see in the States. There are large dry-goods 
emporiums, for the people are very fond of dress. Tailor shops and 
millinery establishments do a good business. It is somewhat curious 
and wonderful to see silks and velvets, worsteds and broadcloths 
marked in the windows at 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000 per yard, but when 
you come to understand that reis are meant curiosity and wonder 
vanish. 

The cafes along this street are always crowded. There the people 
sit drinking coffee all day long, coffee "as strong as the devil, as hot 
as hell, as black as ink and as sweet as love." Certainly the coffee 
is good, and it is cheap. It is said that the inordinate drinking of 
this beverage has tended to make the people nervous and high strung, 
and it can be well believed. It is also claimed that the coffee gets 
into their complexions and makes them more dark-skinned in feature 
than they otherwise would be. I certainly saw many coffee-colored 
people, but whether the liquid had any part in making them such I 
cannot say. 

Besides the Ouvidor there are many other narrow streets, relics 
of bygone time, which seem to defy modern innovation to change 



450 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

them. And the nomenclature seems strange to a Norte- Americano or 
Yanqui, as the Brazilians prefer to call a citizen of the United States. 
For instance, there is the "Seventh of September" Street and the 
"First of March" Street and few know why these are so called or 
what happened on those days. The "Fifteenth of November" 
Square, of course, commemorates the birth of the Republic. Then 
religion plays a good part in naming the streets. There are the 
"Street of Good Jesus," "St. John the Baptist Street," "St. John the 
Evangelist Street," "San Sebastian Street,' and many others called 
after favorite saints, but if the Saints could see some of them they 
might not feel honored at this form of saint worship which character- 
izes the good "Flumenenses," as the inhabitants of Rio are called, 
from that erroneous conception of the early discoverers that the 
place was the mouth of a river. 

Of the modern thoroughfares the next best to the Avenida Central 
and practically a continuation of it is the Beira Mar (around the 
sea) which, beginning at the Monroe Palace, runs between the hills 
and the bay and follows the outline of the latter. It is a lovely boule- 
vard of double parks and rows of stately palms through which the 
lights and shades play with charming effect. Along it are many fine 
residences. The drive leads out past the Praia da Lapa, the Praia da 
Russell and the Praia da Flamengo until the horseshoe curve of Boto- 
fogo is reached, the place where the Exposition of 1908 was held, the 
buildings of which are still standing. 

The Rua Uruguayana is another thoroughfare which has been 
widened and beautified. It is a fairly broad street now, running 
at right angles to the Avenida Central. On a corner of the Rua Uru- 
guayana stands the Caixa de Amortizacao, or treasury building, 
where the paper and gold money is exchanged. It is a very beauti- 
ful structure of a chaste style of architecture and is much admired 
by sight-seers. 

The Canal do Mangue runs through the center of the Mangue. 
There are four driveways along it, two on either side of the canal. 
Leaving the palms the avenue takes a broad sweep and following the 
course of the canal leads to the new docks, where great warehouses 
have been erected to take care of freight. 

These streets are very busy during the day, when they are ani- 
mated and brilliant with well-dressed men and women on foot, in 
carriages and in automobiles. The Avenida Central is especially gay 
in the afternoons when the bon ton come out for drives and prome- 




GOOD TYPE OP NEGRESS, RIO 




BROOM AND BASKET PEDDLER, RIO 



451 




'SCISSORS TO GRIND," RIO 




inii 



FISH VENDER, RIO 



453 



IN UNRIVALED RIO 455 

nades, the splendid Parisian costumes of the ladies attracting much 
attention. 

Rio can boast many fine public buildings. The Municipal Building 
is a vast ornate pile, brilliant in color and adorned with statues. A 
number of royal palms surrounding it give it a splendid setting. The 
Municipal Theater cost several million dollars and will hold twenty 
thousand people. There are several other theaters, but none ap- 
proaches in size or style this great temple dedicated to dramatic art. 
All, however, are well attended. Performances are given in French, 
Spanish and Portuguse. In the winter season there is Italian Opera, 
which is liberally patronized by the upper classes. The National 
Library and the Museum of Art are also large buildings well worthy 
a visit, not alone for their architectural grandeur but for the books, 
pictures, statuary and specimens they contain. The National Mu- 
seum is hidden away in an immense park on the opposite side of 
Rio ; it was formerly the palace of the Emperor. It contains many 
collections of scientific interest and many specimens of the animal 
and insect life of Brazil together with exhibitions of the handiwork 
of the aboriginal tribes, the descendants of whom are to be found 
still in different parts of the republic. The Monroe Palace, which is 
a reproduction of the Brazilian building at the St. Louis Exposition, 
marks the boundary between the Avenida Central and the Beira 
Mar. It was specially erected for the sessions of the Pan-American 
conference which were held in it in 1906. 

Other interesting public struuctures rise up in variouus parts of 
the city. Of these may be mentioned the Casa de Moeda (mint), 
the Congress and Senate Buildings, the Navy and War Departments, 
and the Mansion of the President. The Misericordia Hospital, 
facing the bay, is an enormouus structure and is said to be the largest 
of its kind in the world. It was founded by the Sisters of Mercy 
soon after the first settlement was made. The building has been 
overhauled and remodeled several times. It has accommodation for 
1,200 patients. 

There are many more structures of interest, but, as the auctioneers' 
bills say, they are too numerous to mention. The points of interest, 
the landmarks, the streets, the buildings of Rio would require vol- 
umes to describe them, nor can they be seen in a day, a week, or even 
in a year. The artificial beauty, the man-made features of the city, 
are many and imposing, but the natural beauties, the impressive 
grandeur, the effects of mountain and sky and sea and shore are 
inexhauustible, illimitable, boundless. Something new, something 



456 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

fresh, something novel, something unique in charm and setting is 
ever before the eye to claim attention, to captivate and inspire. 

There is an old saying which has it, — "See Naples and die." I 
would improve it and say, — "See Rio de Janeiro and live, — live to 
keep it green and fresh and fair in memory." 



CHAPTER XVIII 
AROUND AND ABOUT RIO 

PLACES OF INTEREST AND IMPORTANCE NEAR THE CITY 

Rio has many beautiful environs, and some of them are places of 
much importance, being residental sections of the wealthier classes, 
or retreats for statesmen, office-holders, politicians and government 
officials. A number of villages and fairly large towns are within easy 
reach of the city. Of the latter the first in importance is Petropolis, 
where good old Dom Pedro II had his palace, and where the kindly, 
lovable Emperor spent most of his time. It is about thirty miles from 
Rio, and when we were there the short trip had to be made both by 
water and by land, the first part being on boat across the blue bay to 
the Maua landing, thence by train up a steep incline for the rest of 
the way. Now, I understand it is possible to make the whole jour- 
ney by rail and in half the time formerly required by the water-and- 
land route. Yet, if I were there again I would prefer to make 
the trip as we did, for it is more romantic and affords a better and 
more diversified view of the country. We had a delightful little sail 
across the bay, past the Fiscal Island with its imposing edifice, and 
other islands glittering like jewels in a sapphire setting, as the beams 
of the morning sun struuck the waters until we came to the project- 
ing wooden jetty of the Maua landing, where we made connection 
with the oldest railroad in the republic. This is a branch of the 
Leopoldina System, which is the greatest system in Brazil, being a 
consolidation of many small lines, and possessing the first rails laid 
in the country, in 1856, by Viscount Maua. An English Company, 
about a dozen years ago, took over the bonds of the several subor- 
dinate lines, since when there has been a decided improvement in the 
management, the expenses being less and the income greater. 

457 



458 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

For a short distance the road runs over a low and rather swampy 
course, hut we soon struck the foothills of the mountains and began 
a very stiff climb, which in some places marks a gradient of fifteen 
per cent. When we reached the maximum the incline was so great 
that some of us thought we were about to emulate the "fly on the 
ceiling" act with heads down and heels up. The wonderful beauty 
of the scenery and the views to be obtained more than compensated 
for any jar our nerves may have sustained in the ascent. The coun- 
try became rugged and of romantic character. The sides of the 
mountains, broken and precipitous, are clothed with gorgeous and 
enormous tropical vegetation. The tall royal palm majestically tops 
off the rocky crests, and smaller palms and other trees spring forth 
wherever they can get a lodgment for their roots in the hard soil 
which sparsely covers the rocks. Deep-green ferns wave their myriad 
fronds back and forth, and the feathery tops of the tall bamboos 
rustle in the gentle breeze. Giant orchids of many forms and glow- 
ing colors cling from great trees above the jungle of matted green 
bushes and these, with the parasites and other specimens of air plants 
which creep around the stems and branches, give a variety and 
brightness that relieve the density of the thick foliage and vegetation. 
As the train ascends many and novel glimpses are caught of the blue 
bay and its islands with the roofs of the big city beyond, and away 
in the background the towering heights of Corcovado and Tijuca. 
The cloud effects are magnificent and ever varying. At times the 
clouds sweep down the mountains in great billowy waves shutting 
out heights and hollows, trees and vegetation ; again they drift in 
and out in thin lines like gray shadows among the defiles and gorges 
of the massive hills, as if making their way to some rendezvous of 
cloud land. But the grandest transformation takes place when the 
sunbeams drive the vapors before them, and the clouds dissolve away 
over mountain and sea leaving an unobscured view of land and water, 
and one can see in all the charm of perspective beauty the red-tiled 
roofs and white walls of Rio, sitting on its crescent above the shim- 
mering green of the sapphire bay. 

Ravines are crossed and overhead massive walls of rock look as if 
the slightest commotion would topple them from their bases into the 
yawning chasms beneath. Mountain streams toss and foam through 
the gorges, and when there is a heavy rainfall these swell and foam 
with the fury of miniature cataracts. But in fair weather or foul 
there is always an impressiveness in the scenery and a diversity of 
view which well repay the traveler for the journey. 




VIEW FROM CURVELLO, RIO, SHOWING SUGAR LOAF 




EN ROUTE TO CORCOVADO, RIO 



FAREWELL TO RIO AND THE SOUTHLAND 461 

After the alto da serra, or top of the mountain, is reached, it is 
but a short and easy ride down to Petropolis, nestling among the foot- 
hills of the Organ Mountains. Situated as it is, needless to say it is 
a pretty town. The population is almost 20,000, but it fluctuates con- 
siderably. There are many delightful homes and pleasant villas, for 
a good number of wealthy Brazilians have their summer residences 
here and, besides, it is the headquarters for the Diplomatic Corps 
or representatives of foreign governments to the Court of t'he United 
States of Brazil. This is the only place outside a capital where the 
legations have their homes the year round. Uncle Sam has one of 
the finest houses in the whole place. In fact every traveler, whether 
from the United States or elsewhere, is interested in the home of the 
American Legation. Although but a one-storied building it has an 
imposing appearance with its large portico supported by gray Doric 
columns. It is built of stone and stucco, and the rooms are large 
and have very high ceilings. The garden and grounds are beautiful, 
scientifically laid out and ornamented with a profusion of rare plants 
and trees. There are those indigenous to the tropics and the hardier 
representatives of northern climes. Masses of color meet the eye 
at every turn — reds, pinks, yellows, carnations and whites. Camelias, 
which we are accustomed to see only in hot-houses, bloom here in 
the open air in flush of growth, and great bushes o( rhododendrons 
put forward their blooms in a wealth of profusion and size not seen 
elsewhere, while their cousins, the azaleas, raise their evergreen 
leaves and fragrant flowers in a regal glory all their own. Palm- 
trees of many varieties skirt the walks of the lawn, and beside tbe 
house is a small grove of orange-trees which supply fresh fruit for 
the breakfast table in season. Bananas, large and luscious, can be 
picked in the back yard. On the whole the surroundings are ideal 
and one is inclined to envy the fortunate individual whose lot has 
fallen upon such pleasant places as the representative of the United 
States. 

Across the way from the American Legation is a magnificent 
building, formerly the suummer palace of Dom Pedro, but now 
utilized as a seminary for young ladies. There are several semi- 
naries and schools in Petropolis. One of the best is an American in- 
stitution under the auspices of the Methodist Church. It is devoted 
to the education of girls and all the teachers are North Americans. 
It is sustained by contributions from Methodist women of the 
United States. The building, which was formerly the home of a rich 
Brazilian, is situated on a hill above the town which gives it an im- 



462 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

posing look ; the location is very healthy, the view good, the teaching 
all that could he desired, and these three advantages render the school 
very popular and cause it to he well attended. 

Formerly the education of women was at a low ebh throughout 
Brazil, but conditions have changed of late years and now the girl 
is as well looked after as the boy in regard to mental equipment. 
Although as yet there are no "new women"' in Brazil in the sense we 
understand the term in London or New York, women are well to the 
front and taking an active part in the arena of every-day life; situa- 
tions which not so long ago they were deemed unfit to fill have been 
thrown open to them and in many cases they are preferred to em- 
ployes of the other sex. There are girl book-keepers, stenographers, 
telegraph and telephone operators, accountants, secretaries, helpers 
in financial institutions and in many other capacities, which ten or a 
dozen years ago were closed to them. 

Petropolis, with its surroundings, has been called the Switzerland 
of Brazil, and the comparison is not inapt. It has many features 
which recall the little Alp country down here in the latitude of the 
Southern tropic. There are glens and glades, gorges and defiles, 
woods and forests, hills, mountains and streams which bring the 
memory back to the Alpine scenery on the Swiss borders ; only snows 
and glaciers are lacking to add to the resemblance. But no tem- 
perate climate can produce such coloring and such varying hues of 
landscape as are to be seen here. The massive, dense tropical vege- 
tation and the play of sunshine and shadow cannot be duplicated in 
northern regions. 

The narrow streets of Petropolis are always pleasantly cool and 
shady, which makes a visit to it very refreshing after the heat and 
glare of the narrow streets of Rio. A stream of water flows through 
the town and this is crossed in several places by red bridges which fit 
in well with the general color scheme of the houses and stores. The 
air is exceptionally pure and invigorating and the place is said to be 
very well adapted for those suffering from pulmonary affections 
During the summer months, that is to say, from December to April, 
it is quite gay, as most of the wealth and fashion of the metropolis 
pay a visit at some time during this season. The President and most 
of the Ministry have villas, and there is an interchange of social life 
which is very agreeable and pleasant. 

On the whole Petropolis is a place well worth seeing and the 
visitor carries away many delightful memories not only of the 



FAREWELL TO RIO AND THE SOUTHLAND 463 

scenery and general surroundings but of the courtesy of the people 
and the kindly way they treat the strangers within their gates. 

Returning across the bay from Maua we experienced a sunset that 
I think can only be seen in this latitude. Here the great golden 
orb of day does not sink slowly down to the western horizon, leaving 
long streamers of light behind, as in temperate lands, to prolong the 
time of twilight, but suddenly drops as it were beneath the rim of 
earth in a great ball of glowing color, and is gone before you are 
aware that day has ended and night begun. He does not set, 

As in northern climes obscurely bright, 

But in one unclouded blaze of living light. 

As we looked toward the mountains behind Rio we could see the 
clouds aglow with crimson and purple, blushing, so to speak, where 
the god of day had imprinted his farewell kiss for the night, but in 
a few moments the colors faded and somber evening came down cov- 
ering land and water as with a pall. The faint twilight was so short 
it is hard to describe. It was not the poetical hour of twilight, when 
"fades the glimmering landscape," but merely a blink of gray light 
between the passing of the day and the coming of the night. Pres- 
ently we found ourselves sailing in intense tropical darkness. Soon 
the stars of the southern constellations appeared in the vault above, 
scintillating and twinkling, as if holding conversation with the places 
which had missed them during the day. 

One day we made a trip to Tijuca by train. This village lies in a 
gorge known as the Alto da Boa Vesta, which is eight hundred and 
sixty feet nearer heaven than the picturesque city of Rio. The cool- 
ness and shade of this place were a great relief from the hot pave- 
ments of the city. The views from the mountain here are in keeping 
with those from the other vantage points round about the city. 
Lovely beyond description are these scenes in the undulations of the 
forest-covered hills ; so no matter how facile the descriptive pen is 
it can never do them justice or portray them as they are. Some 
points we visited on this trip were the "Cachoeinna," or little cas- 
cade ; "Cachoeira," or greater cascade ; the ''Emperor's Table" and 
the "Chinese View." From the last-mentioned we had a vista cov- 
ering the whole city of Rio with all its hills and surrounding moun- 
tains until the eye rested on the blue waters of the faraway Atlantic. 

On the bay across from Rio, is the capital of the State of Rio de 
Janeiro. This is Nictheroy, a town of about 30,000 inhabitants. 
Ferries run across to it every half hour or so. It has no distinctive 



464 UNDER THE SOUTHERN CROSS 

features to distinguish it from the generality of South American 
towns of the same size. The suburbs of Itajahy and Sacco do San 
Francisco, on the shores of the bay, are very picturesque, and several 
of the well-known business men and capitalists of Rio have thefr 
homes there. 

The days were all too short for our sight-seeing rambles through 
the big city and excursions into the suburbs, though we tried to uti- 
lize every hour to the best advantage. We had some strenuous times 
in going around, and were always glad to get back to the quietude 
of our hotel under old Corcovado, where we amused ourselves in the 
evening after dinner in many ways. One of our principal pastimes 
was catching different kinds of bugs and moths in specially con- 
structed nets. We scared the insects from the trees in the grounds 
of the hotel, and as they emerged into the electric light it was easy 
to pounce upon them with our nets. Among the different specimens 
captured we discovered the beautiful moth-miller which is peculiar 
to this place. In fact an entomologist would have been delighted 
with the results of our efforts, but alas, there was none present to 
classify and describe our tiny prisoners, so in most cases we let 
them go back to the trees again. The amusement was novel and 
more or less exciting. Can any of our home hotels afford a similar 
pastime for its guests? 

When wearied with this form of entertaining ourselves, we would 
sit on the piazza or on chairs out on the grounds watching the thou- 
sands of lights sparkling and glittering and shimmering and scin- 
tillating from the towers and roofs and windows and streets of Rio, 
while large bats circled round our heads and the cool tranquilizing 
breeze from the mountains fanned our faces like the waft of angels 
wings in the evening glow. At night Rio with its myriad of lights 
appears from a distance, like some enchanted city or some place 
sacred to gods or genii where the denizens of other worlds hold high 
carnival for the envy of mortals. As we looked upon it lying below 
us as in a basin, a gentleman remarked to me : "It is as if the heavens 
were inverted with the stars shining up from a concave vault.' 
That modern fairyland of lights actually fascinated us ; it seemed 
as if each light was a mesmerizing eye which brought us under the 
power of its enchantment. The scene pur us under a spell and lulled 
us into a sort of dreamland reverie in which we would indulge until 
the leathery wings of a bat, or the swish of a night-miller would 
awake us from our trance to the actual surroundings and discover 
to us that the hour for retiring; had arrived. 




GATE OF CARIOCO AQUEDUCT. RIO 




AT TOP OF CORCOVADO, RIO 



FAREWELL TO RIO AND THE SOUTHLAND 467 

At last the day of parting came around and we had to say a fond, 
but let us hope, not a last farewell to beautiful, never-to-be-forgotten 
Rio. 

"All earthly joys must pass away, 
The fairest flowers must fade. 
To-day must give to-morrow place, 
Time cannot be delayed." 

As we passed out of the harbor the sun was setting in radiant, 
glowing, tropical glory, his last beams blending sky, water and land 
in a picture which can never fade from the memory. A glittering 
pathway stretched toward the west, and in its track all things were 
fused in the red and golden tints of the parting sunlight. It was a 
scene worthy of the land we were leaving, a land indeed to which 
the words of the old navigator when addressing his sovereign may 
be fittingly applied: "This is the most beautiful land eyes ever 
beheld." 

With prow turned toward the North and Home the Lamport & 
Holt steamer Voltaire cut the waves of the blue Atlantic bearing us 
away from lovely Rio and its enchanting surroundings. The coast 
faded from view in the dying light as we waved back the parting 
"Adios." 



INDEX 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Along the Western Coast 64-101 

Alpaca, The 171 

Alps, The Maj estic 1 

Anconcagna, Mt. 361 

Ancon, Canal Zone 55 

Hotel Tivoli 61 

Andean Huts 360 

Andean Passes 360 

Andean Scenery 350, 351 

Andean Solitudes 361 

Antofogasta, Town of 301, 302 

Export Trade of 301 

Arabia 2 

Arequipa 159, 165, 166, 171, 175 

Buildings of 166 

Fruits and Plants 166 

Harvard Observatory 165 

Industries of 171, 172 

Argentina 367 

Arica, Town of 298, 301 

Around Rio 457-467_ 

Aspinwall ( Colon ) 45 

Atahualpa, The Inca 94, 198, 205 

Butchery of 205 

Ransom offered by 198 

Athens, Hoary 2 

"Athens of the South" 166 

Australia 2, 292 

Aymara Indians 253 

Backbone of the Andes 354 

"Balboa" ( Vasco Nunez) 68, 71 

Balsas, Lake Titicaca 230, 232 

"Banda Oriental," The 398 

Bethlehem 2 

"Blackbeard," The Buccaneer 44 

Blue Mountains, Jamaica 17 

Bolivar 151 

Bolognesi, Col. Francisco 108 

Botofogo, Rio 426 

"Bower of the Gods" 37 

Brazil 406-467 

Brazilian Diamonds 449 

Brig Nancv -6 



472 INDEX 

Buccaneers, The 38-49 

Description of 39, 40 

Origin of 39 

Buenos Aires 367-394 

Busy Streets of 370, 373 

Cemeteries of 386 

"Conventillas" of the poor 393 

Cosmopolitan City 393 

Great Trade of 370 

Harbor and Docks 369, 370 

Hotels and Restaurants 377 

Importance of 368 

Markets of 389 

Milk Shops 390 

Mortality of 386 

Newspapers of 382, 385 

Parks of 378 

Police of 394 

Population of 369 

Public Buildings of 374 

Rank and Fashion of 373 

Residences of 390 

Theaters of 382 

University of 386 

Water Supply of 390 



Cacray, Town of 148 

Cailloma, Silver Mines of 176 

Callao 94, 101, 152 

Canal Zone 46 

Supplies for 46 

Caracoles, Station at 359 

Caribbean Sea 7, 45 

Lands Around 7 

Casapalca, Town of 148 

Cerro de Pasco, Mines of 151 

"Ceylon's Lovely Isle" 2 

Chagres River 50, 57, 58 

Checacupe, Town of 184 

Chica, Native Liquor 160 

Chicla, Town of 148 

Chile 288-305 

Nitrate "Fields" 293, 294, 297 

Rich in Minerals 297 

Chilean Coast 291-293 

Chilean Rotos 67 

Chimborazo, Mt 76 

Chimu Race 89 

China, Jealous 2 

Chincha Islands 154 

Guano Deposits 154 

Cholo Indians 267 

Chosica, Town of 142 

"Christ the Redeemer," Statue of 362 

Chuno, Frozen Potatoes 223 

"City of the Kings" 102-127 

City of Panama 62 

Houses and Streets 62 

Climbing the Andes 353 



INDEX 473 

Coati Island, Lake Titicaca 237 

Coca, The Plant 166 

Colisseum, The 2 

Colon, Canal Zone 45, 46, 49 

Columbia, Coast of 72 

Condor, The National Bird 354, 359 

Coquimbo, Town of 302 

Cortez, Hernando 50 

Cossack, Home of 2 

Costa Rica 71 

Cotopaxi, Mt 76 

Cousino, Sehora Isadora 337 

Crossing the Andes 350-367 

Crucero Alto, 183 

Highest Railroad Town 183 

Cuaca, National Dance 337, 338 

Cuba ' 7, 8 

Curitiba, Brazil 406 

Cuzco 175-224 

Ancient Civilization of 190 

Beginning of Incan Era 190 

Bells of 215 

Buildings of the Present 223, 224 

Garden of the Sun 205 

Glimpses of the Past 189 

House of the Virgins 205 

Incan Palaces 197, 198 

Incan Ruins 197 

Incan Treasures 198 

Legends 190 

Manco Capac 190 

Mama Occla 190 

Modern City, The 216 

Origin of the Incas 190 

Sacsahuaman Fortress 206, 215 

Temple of the Sun 197 

Cuzco, Valley of 184 

Fruits from 184 

Davis, Edward, Buccaneer 71 

"Death of Atahualpa," The Painting 107 

Death of "Balboa" 71 

De Lesseps and the Canal 51 

Desert of Islay 165 

Digging the Big Ditch 50-63 

Distances Saved by Canal 61 

Donkeys 171 

Down the West Coast 64-101 

Ecclesiastical Prerogatives, Lima 107 

Ecuador 76-84 

Education, Canal Zone 57 

El Misti, Mt 160, 176 

Empire, Canal Zone 57 

Equator, Crossing the 75 

Eten, Town of 93 

Euphrates and Tigris, Valley of 

Europe, Byways of 1 

European Adventurers and Desperadoes 39 



474 INDEX 

"Fairyland of Flowers and Sunshine" , 37 

Farewell to Rio 467 

Farms of Argentina 367 

"Fiesta" Days 345 

"Flower of the Antilles" 1-37 

Foothills of the Andes 141 

Desolate Appearance of 141 

Forum, The Roman 2 

France, Vivacious 1 

"France's Folly" 52 

Freight on the West Coast 67 

"Freight Train of the Andes" 171 

Galera, The 151 

Gatun Dam, Panama Canal 61 

"Gem of the Southern Pacific" 327 

Germany, Classic 1 

Gethsemane 2 

Gladstone, W. E 8 

Grace, W. R. & Co 134 

Grand Divide, The 183 

Great South American Desert 84 

Greece, Ancient 2 

"Gringos," Origin of 302, 305 

Guano 154 

Guaqui 241 

Guayaquil, City of 76, 80, 83 

Exports of 83 

Importance of Port 83 

Guayas River 75, 84 

Gulf Stream 14 

Haiti, Island of 8 

Highest Railroad 128, 151 

Hispaniola, Natives of 39 

Hope, near Kingston 13 

House of the Virgins, Cuzco 205 

Hygiene, Canal Zone 55 



Illimani, Mt 238 

Incan Capital 175-224 

Incas, The 190, 216 

Children of the Sun 190 

Garden of the Sun 205 

Glory and Greatness of 205 

Government of 205 

House of the Virgins 205 

Legends of 190 

Manco Capac 190, 233, 234 

Mama Occlo t 190, 233, 234 

On Lake Titicaca 190 

Origin of 190 

Palaces of 205 

Riches of 198 

Skilled in Arts 216 

Temple of the Sun 197, 205 

Treasures of 198, 234 

Virgins of the Sun 205 



INDEX 475 

India, Occult 2 

Indian Capital 175 

Indian Huts 142 

Indians, Cholo 148 223 

Iodine ' 294 

Iquique ..301 

Irving, Washington 103 

Islay, Desert of 165 

Isthmian Canal 7 

Itajahy 406 

Jamaica 8-37 

Agricultural Districts 13 

Annotta Bay 21 

Blue Mountains 14, 26, 31 

Climate of 13 

Constant Springs Hotel 31 

East Indian Coolies 18 

Education in 8 

Golden Vale of 18 

"Nature- Woven Lace" 31 

Negro Insurrections 13 

Negro Slavery in 8 

Population of 13 

Port Antonio 14 

Port Royal Bay 21 

Products of 25 

Rio Grande 18 

St. Margaret's Bay 21 

St. Mary's, Blue Hills of 17 

Sugar Plantations of 8 

Wag- Water River 21 

Japan, Strange 2 

Juliaca 183, 229 

Hotel Ratti 183 

Juncal, Town of 354 



Kingston, Jamaica 25, 26 

Architecture of 26 

Curio Shops 31 

Energy and Bustle of 25 

Healthy City 26 

Hotel Myrtle Bank 25 

People of 26 

Port Royal 22, 38 

Port Royal Bay 22 

Public Buildings of 22 

Streets and Homes of 26 

Kidd, Captain 44 

Kaolin, Fine Sand 159 

La Boca, Harbor of 68 

Lagoinha 426 

Lagunillas, The 183 

"Land of Flowers" 14 

La Paz 242-287 

Aymara Indians 253 

Bull-fighting 280 



476 iNDEX 

Carmelite Nuns 261 

Climate of 245 

Churches of 254 

Danger of Violent Exercise 246 

Games of Chance 268, 279 

Highest City in the World 245 

Houses of 262 

Keeping warm 246 

Markets of 267, 268 

"Mountain Sea-sickness" 246 

Quichua Indians 253, 254 

Streets of 245, 279 

Walls of 242 

Lapland, Bluffs of 1 

La Prensa, newspaper, Buenos Aires 382, 385 

Building and Offices of 382 

La Serena, Town of 302 

Large Trade of 302 

Mines near 302 

Lava Tracts 160 

Lewis Galdy, Tomb of 32 

Lima 102-127 

Archbishop of 104 

Aspect of City 112 

Business Hours 116 

Cathedral 112, 122 

Church Feasts 120 

Church Furnishings 122 

"City of the Kings" 120-127 

Clubs of Ill 

Cosmopolitanism of 116 

Deceptive Appearance of 115 

Dress of the People 119 

Ecclesiastical Prerogatives 107 

"Fiesta" Days 120 

Flimsy Architecture of 115 

Founded by Pizarro 103 

Holy Inquisition, The 102 

Hotels of 112 

House of the Viceroys 102 

Lottery Gambling 127 

National Library 123 

Plaza Mayor 104 

Population of 116 

Public Buildings of 103, 122 

Rome of South America, The 120 

Rose of Lima, Saint 101 

Santo Domingo Church 104 

Social Set of Ill 

Stores and Shops of 116 

Street Peddlers of 124 

Stronghold of Catholicism 120 

Taken by San Martin 107 

Tomb of Pizarro 104 

University of 123 

Women and Girls of 119 

Line, Crossing the 75 

Liquor of Pisco 152 

Llai-Llai, Town of 352 

Llamas 171, 176 

Description of .,,,,,,,., 171 



INDEX 477 

Nature of 171 

L'Ollonois, The Buccaneer 40 

Los Andes, Station 352 

Los Cuevas, Station 365 

Los Loros, Station 354 

"Lost Garden of Eden" 37_ 

Los ,Vacas, Station 365 

Lottery Gamblers, Rio 449 

Mama Occlo 190, 233, 234 

Manco Capac 190, 233, 234 

Mantas, Feminine Garments 223 

Marco Montana, ("Mountain Sea-sickness") 246 

Maroons 8 

Matucana, Town of . . 133, 145, 146 

McKenna, Benjamin Vicuna 332 

"Medanos," The 165 

Mediterranean, The 

Meiggs, Henry 128, 129, 130, 133 

Mendoza, Town of 365, 366 

An Oasis in a Desert 366 

Plentiful Fruits 366 

Visited by Earthquake 366 

Mendoza River 365 

Miraflores, Panama Canal 58 

Mollendo, Port of 154, 159, 288, 292 

Hotel Ferrocarril 159, 288 

Importance of 1§9 

Stormy Harbor of 1^4 

View from 29- 

Montbar, The Buccaneer 40 

Montevideo • 397-405 

Architecture of 401 

Around the Bay of 404 

Aspect of the City 401 

Beautiful Villas of 404 

Beautiful Women of 40o 

Emporiums and Shops 406 

Healthy Location of 398 

Hotels of 403 

Nomenclature of 40- 

Pamperos (Winds) 401 

Population of 401 

Public Buildings of 403, 404 

Social Intercourse 4(L 

Suburbs of • ■ • 405 

Theaters of 403, 404 

University of 40d, 406 

Well-Dressed Citizens of 405 

Morgan, Captain Henry, Buccaneer 40 

Mt. Blanc \ 

Mt. of Olives ^ 

Nancy, The Brig 2( 5 

Naples, Bay of f 

"Nature-Woven Lace" 31 

Nazareth ~ 

Negroes, West Indian ' 

Nictheroy, Town of - 1 " 



478 INDEX 

Nimble Nymphs 3g 

Nitrate "Fields," Chile 293 294 

O'Connell, Daniel g 

Olives 13 

Organ Mountains 419 451 

Orient, The 2 

Oroya Railroad 66-151 

Branch Line of I34 

Bridges of _ _ 130 

Cost of Construction 130 

Difficulty of Construction 130 

Galera Tunnel 134 

Steep Grades of 137 

Wastes of Desolation Seen From 141 

Ostriches 2>67 

Palestine 2 

Pampas, The 160 

Panama, Burning of City of 43 

Panama Canal 50-63 

A Deadly Region 57 

Attacked by the French 51 

Big Shovels on 57 

Commissariat Department 58 

Completion of 1914 58 

Cost in Men and Money 52, 53 

Culebra Cut 57, 58 

Mileage Saved by 58 

Number of Laborers Engaged 56, 57 

Panama Hats 76, 79 

"Paradise of the Pacific" 2 

Parangua, Brazil 406 

Pascamayo, Town of 93, 94 

Payta, Port of 89 

A Rainless Region 90 

Harbor of 90 

Legends of 93 

Market Place of 93 

Streets of 90 

Water-carriers of 96 

Pearl Islands 71 

"Pearl of the Antilles" 8 

Pedro Miguel, Panama Canal 58 

Penn, Admiral 8 

Persia 2 

Peru 89-111 

Chimu Race of 89 

Developing Industries of 108 

Emerging from the Shadow 108 

Gallant Resistance of 108 

Increasing Value of Exports Ill 

Shore Line of 84 

Spanish Conquerors of 89 

Spirit of the Past Ill 

Spoliation of 108 

Stronghold of Catholicism 120 

Taking on New Life HI 

Treasures of 89 



INDEX 479 

War with Chile 107 

Wounds of the Past Ill 

Vanished Glory of 108 

Pisagua, Port of 301 

"Peter the Great," Buccaneer 40 

Petropolis, City of 457-462 

Don Pedro's Palace 461 

Home of the Legations 461 

Streets of 462 

Philippines, The 2 

Pierola, Attacks Lima Ill 

Pisco, Port of 152 

Country Around 153 

Fruits of 153 

Liquor of 152 

Mule Tramways 152 

Piura, Cotton Center 90 

Pizarro 84, 94, 103, 104, 152, 198, 205, 206 

Port Antonio, Jamaica 17, 18, 21 

Blue Hole, Near 21 

Blue Mountain Range 17 

Cane Fields Around 18 

East Indian Coolies 18 

Folly Point Lighthouse 18 

Golden Vale 18 

Harbor of 17 

Hotel Titchfield 14, 18 

People of 18 

Population of 1' 

St. Mary's Blue Hills 17 

Tropical Scenery 17 

Porto Rico 8 

Poverty at Panama 6- 

Puna, Island of • • °4 

Puno, Town of 229 , 2o0 

Puno and Arequipa Railroad 175 

Costliest Ever Constructed 175 

Queen Moon 2tf 

Queen Victoria Lily • • • jt 

Quichua Indians — - i ' ~£x 

Quichua Language "^ 

Quinua, Fruit l '-? 

Quito, City of /b 

Railroad from Valparaiso to Santiago 328 

Resguardo, Station at ^ 

Rhine, The Blue * 

SS? &2*. Pen !' en, r. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::m:m ui 

Rio Aconcagua River • • ■ ££ 

Rio de Janeiro kc7~2» 

Around and About the City 45/ > •}*» 

Beauty of Harbor 443 

Botanic Gardens *~, 

Botofogo 44 ° 

£ af6s oi A '. '.425,' 458, 464 

Corcovado ' ' ... 

Flowers and Plants w 



480 INDEX 

Great Progress of 432 

History of 431, 432 

Hotels of 425, 426 

Hunchback Mountain 431 

Languages Spoken 437 

Lottery Gamblers 449 

Lovely Vistas 426 

Monroe Palace 444 

Public Buildings 432, 437, 455 

Red Roofs of 420 

Sanitary Improvements 425 

Santa Theresa 425, 431 

Stores of 449 

Streets of 425, 437, 450 

Street Names 450 

Street Peddlers 438 

Street Scenes 438 

Suburban Scenery 426 

Sugar Loaf Mountain 420, 425, 426 

Rio Grande, Port of Southern Brazil 406 

Roberts, Captain Bartholomew, Buccaneer 44 

Rodney, Admiral 32 

Rome, Imperial 2 

Rome of <6outh America, The 120 

Sacsahuaman Fortress, Cuzco 215 

View from 215, 216 

Salaverry, Town of 93, 94 

San Bartholome, Town of 145 

San Francisco by way of the Horn 51 

San Martin, General, March of 365 

Santa Lucia, Rock of 331 

Beauty of 331, 332 

View from 332, 335 

Santa Theresa, Rio 425, 431 

Santiago 327-3*9 

Approach to City 328 

Bower of Beauty 331 

Churches of 332 

Climate of 346 

"Fiesta" Days 345 

Homes of the Wealthy 336, 338, 341 

Horse Racing 338 

Markets of 345 

Metropolitan City of the Andes 328 

National Dances 341 

Newspapers of 346 

Park of Santa Lucia 338 

Public Buildings of 341, 342 

Railroad from Valparaiso 328 

Santa Lucia 331 

Shops and Stores of 341 

Streets of 336 

View from Santa Lucia 338 

Santa Rosa, Town of 352 

Santos, Coffee Port of Brazil 409, 410 

Sao Francisco, Brazil 406 

Sao Paulo, Brazil 409, 410 

Sargasso Sea 14 

Savannas, Broad t 



INDEX 481 

Secuani, Town of 184, 185 

"Shark Papers," The 26 

Shovels at Panama 57 

Sicily, Sufferers of 25 

Slave Stations, Africa 8 

"Soldier's Leap," The 354 

Sorata, Mt 230, 237 

Sorroche, Mountain Sickness 146, 147, 148, 175 

Antidotes for ' ' . . . ' 147 

Southern Brazil, Shores of 406 

Southern Cross, The 2, 72, 75, 292 

Southern Railroad of Peru 159 

Spain, Romantic 1 

Spaniards 7 

Spanish Laborers, C. Z 57 

Spanish Privateers 39 

Spanish Town, Jamaica ! 31 

Sparrow, the English Cutter 26 

Steamboat Coya, Lake Titicaca 230 

St. Rose of Lima 107 

Sumbay, Town of 176 

Switzerland, Rugged 1 



Tacna, Province of 301 

Taltal, Port of 302 

Tarapaca, Province of 301 

Teach, English Buccaneer 44 

Temple of the Sun, Cuzco 197, 205 

Tihuanaco 287 

Monolithic Doorways of 287 

Monolithic Stones of 287 

Monolithic Idols of 287 

Antiquarian Interest of 287 

Tijuca, near Rio 463 

Titicaca, Lake 229-241 

Balsas on 230, 232 

Coati Island 237 

Commerce of 238 

Imports and Exports Carried Across 238 

Island of 230,234 

Legends of 237 

Palaces of 234 

Plateau of 229 

Steamboat Coya 229 

Tomb of Pizarro 103 

Tortuga, Island of 39 

Transandine Road 350, 352 

Tropical Glades ., 14 

Truxillo, Town of 94 

Tumbez, Port of 84 

Turk, Land of the 2 



Ugarte, Alfonso 108 

University, First in Western World 103 

University of Montevideo 405, 406 

Uruguay .397 

Cattle of 401 

Checkered History of 397, 398 



482 INDEX 

Climate of 398 

Productions of 398 

Valdera, Town of 302 

Valparaiso 306-324 

A City on Hills 307 

Ascensors 307 

Barrancas 307 

Busiest Port of South America 314 

Climate of 320 

Clubs of 311, 312 

Customs and Manners of 313 

Divisions of 308, 311 

Earthquake, The Awful 320, 323 

Girl Street-car Conductors 317 

Great Trade of 317 

Harbor and View of 318 

Hospitals of 31? 

"Malecon," The 319 

Newspapers of 320 

Par of Exchange in 319 

Public Buildings of 307 

Residences of 311 

Royal Hotel 319 

Streets of 308, 311, 318 

Unique Site of 307 

Water and Water-works of 307 

Van Home, the Buccaneer 43 

Venables, Admiral 8 

Verruga, Pestilence of 133 

Vesuvius, Mt 1 

Vicuna, The 171 

Vilcamayu River 184 

Vina del Mar, Valparaiso 323 

War Between Chile and Peru 107 

Wart- Water Bridge 145 

Watling's Island 14 

West Indies 7 

West Indian Negroes at Panama 56 

Western Australia, Barren Stretches of 160 

World, On the Roof of 151 

Yellow Fever ("Yellow Jack") 51, 425 

"Yerba Mate" ( Paraguayan Tea) 378 



